Bayern Munich entertain Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Wednesday with the hosts looking to return to the top of the table.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, remain unbeaten after the opening 11 matches and have moved into the Champions League qualification positions.
Match preview
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After drawing for the third time in four league matches, Bayern have dropped more points in the past month than they had in the previous 11 since Hansi Flick was appointed as permanent manager of the club last December.
Had Union Berlin been equipped with their two top goalscorers Max Kruse and Robert Andrich, a point away to a side currently occupying a top six position may not have felt such a bad outcome. However, the two midfielders were injured and suspended respectively, making the 1-1 draw between the sides a surprising outcome.
Grischa Promel got Union Berlin, who are competing in the Bundesliga for only the second season in their entire history, off to a flier in the fourth minute, but Robert Lewandowski's second-half strike ensured a share of the spoils.
Despite retaining more than two-thirds of possession, Bayern's relatively low tally of five shots on target by their own high standards was matched by their lesser fancied opponents, suggesting all is not quite clicking for the Bavarians at present. They must perform better against a Wolfsburg side who have not been beaten yet this season.
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Indeed, Wolfsburg's 2-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday night made it an extremely impressive 17 points from a possible 21 in their last seven league matches.
Bas Dost's second-half penalty had threatened ending Wolfsburg's unbeaten record this season, but Wout Weghorst levelled proceedings with one of his own before winning the game in the final few minutes of the match.
Having failed to score in his opening three matches, the Netherlands striker has since scored nine goals in his last eight league matches to help propel Wolfsburg up the league table into a Champions League qualification. Only Lewandowksi, Timo Werner and Jadon Sancho scored more Bundesliga goals than Weghorst last season, so if Oliver Glasner can help ensure he remains fit and in-form, his side have every chance of performing above expectations.
That will certainly be the case in Munich on Wednesday, too, though Die Wolfe have only won once on the road this season, so another draw would have to be considered a fine result.
Bayern Munich Bundesliga form: WWDWDD
Bayern Munich form (all competitions): WWDDWD
Wolfsburg Bundesliga form: DWWWDW
Team News
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Bayern remain without Joshua Kimmich until the New Year after the midfielder sustained meniscus damage against Borussia Dortmund last month, so Corentin Tolisso could start in midfield having come off the bench in Berlin on Saturday.
Javi Martinez and Tanguy Nianzou are out with muscle injuries, which is an occurrence Flick may look to minimise by rotating his side given the quick turnaround between fixtures. Leroy Sane may be afforded an opportunity from the start, then, with Douglas Costa an alternative option.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, will be without Joshua Guilavogui and Admir Mehmedi with muscle and Achilles tendon issues respectively.
Glasner does not possess the wealth of options Flick has at his disposal, so is likely to utilise the same XI to remain as competitive as possible.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Nauer; Pavard, Boateng, Alaba, Davies; Tolisso, Goretzka; Sane, Muller, Coman; Lewandowski
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Mbabu, Lacroix, Brooks, Roussillon; Arnold, Schlager; Baku, Philipp, Brekalo; Weghorst
We say: Bayern Munich 2-1 Wolfsburg
We expect a closely-fought encounter at Allianz Arena, with Wolfsburg's unbeaten domestic record this season potentially coming to an end.
Lewandowski and Weghorst may prove to be the key performers on the pitch; whoever takes the chances which will surely come their way may be the match-winner on the day.
Top betting tip
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 67.19%. A draw had a probability of 17.2% and a win for Wolfsburg had a probability of 15.61%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayern Munich win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-1 (7.84%) and 2-0 (7.83%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.21%), while for a Wolfsburg win it was 1-2 (4.23%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Bayern Munich in this match.
