Bayern Munich will be looking to move another step closer to winning an eighth Bundesliga title on the spin when they play host to Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend.
The in-form hosts made a winning return to action last week to remain four points clear at the top, while Frankfurt fell to another defeat and are not yet safe from the drop.
Match preview
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Bayern may not have been at their best against Union Berlin, but that is entirely understandable given the two-month break between matches owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Neven Subotic's costly error gifted Robert Lewandowski the chance to put the league leaders ahead from the penalty spot, before Benjamin Pavard added a second 10 minutes from time.
It was a case of business as usual for the Bavarian giants, who have completely transformed their season since Hansi Flick replaced Niko Kovac in November.
Bayern were down in seventh after 14 matches, but they have slowly climbed the division and now hold a four-point advantage on closest challengers Borussia Dortmund.
Should everything go to plan this weekend, with Dortmund taking on Wolfsburg elsewhere on Saturday, there will be plenty riding on next week's Der Klassiker.
Flick will not need telling that his side cannot afford to take their eye off the ball, but the form book certainly suggests that this match will only end one way.
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While Bayern have won 11 of their last 12 matches in all competitions, drawing the other, Frankfurt have lost their last three games, each in a different competition.
Adi Hutter's side have slipped from ninth to 13th in the space of five games and are only five points above the relegation playoff spot.
To make matters worse for Frankfurt, they have the worst away record in the Bundesliga this term and have lost each of their last 10 league trips to the Allianz Arena.
However, the Eagles did famously beat Bayern 5-1 in the reverse fixture earlier this season - a result that led to Kovac's sacking, and ultimately the Bavarians' turnaround.
Revenge will be on the cards for the hosts on Saturday, then, but more important than that will be maintaining their healthy lead at the top ahead of the much-anticipated Der Klassiker.
Bayern Munich's Bundesliga form: DWWWWW
Bayern Munich's form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Eintracht Frankfurt's Bundesliga form: DWLLLL
Eintracht Frankfurt's form (all competitions): LDWLLL
Team News
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Lewandowski used the two-month hiatus to overcome a knee injury and looked sharp on his return to action last week, so the division's leading scorer will likely retain his place.
Indeed, with Philippe Coutinho and Corentin Tolisso the only confirmed injury absentees for Bayern, Flick is expected to keep changes to a minimum on Saturday.
Should Flick wish to freshen things up, though, Kingsley Coman and Ivan Perisic are both pushing for recalls after being brought off the bench last time out.
As for the visitors, Dominik Kohr is suspended and centre-forward Goncalo Paciencia has been ruled out with a thigh injury.
However, Timothy Chandler is in contention to start this weekend's match, while Bas Dost got 90 minutes under his belt in the 3-1 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach last week.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Pavard, Boateng, Alaba, Davies; Kimmich, Thiago; Muller, Goretzka, Gnabry; Lewandowski
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Toure, Abraham, Hinteregger, N'Dicka; Ilsanker, Rode; Chandler, Kamada, Kostic; Dost
We say: Bayern Munich 3-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Bayern have won five Bundesliga games in a row, whereas Frankfurt have lost each of their last four. The Eagles may have come out on top in the reverse fixture, but they are without a point in 10 visits to the Allianz Arena and we are not expecting that run to end this weekend.
Daniel Lewis
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bayern Munich win with a probability of 74.68%. A draw had a probability of 14.9% and a win for Eintracht Frankfurt had a probability of 10.38%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayern Munich win was 2-0 with a probability of 9.86%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.03%) and 3-0 (8.8%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.74%), while for a Eintracht Frankfurt win it was 1-2 (3.09%). The actual scoreline of 5-2 was predicted with a 1.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bayern Munich would win this match.
