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Stuttgart
Bundesliga
Feb 7, 2015 at 2.30pm UK
 
Bayern logo

0-2

FT(HT: 0-1)
Robben (41'), Alaba (51')

Preview: Stuttgart vs. Bayern Munich

Sports Mole takes a look at the key factors ahead of Bayern Munich's trip to face Stuttgart on Saturday.

A sluggish start to 2015 has frustrated some Bayern Munich supporters who are used to perfection from Pep Guardiola and his squad of world-class players.

The second half of the season started with a shock 4-1 defeat to Wolfsburg, and the Bundesliga champions followed their first league defeat of the campaign with a 1-1 draw against Schalke 04 on Tuesday evening.

Despite watching Benedikt Howedes cancel out Arjen Robben's opener at the Allianz Arena, Guardiola was quick to insists that he was "very satisfied" with his side, who were forced to play the majority of the match with 10 men following Jerome Boateng's early red card.

In other leagues, two matches without a win would deal a serious blow to a side's title aspirations, but Bayern's dominance in Germany means that they remain firm favourites with an eight-point lead at the top of the table.

However, Guardiola will be keen to see his team get back to their best as quickly as possible due to the tougher tests which await them later this month.

Shakhtar Donetsk stand in Bayern's way in the last 16 of the Champions League, and a run of impressive results in the league will certainly hand the Spaniard's squad a boost heading into that tie.

Stuttgart's focus remains on securing their Bundesliga place for another season, and Huub Stevens will take confidence from Wednesday's goalless draw against FC Koln.

Although a point was a decent outcome for Stuttgart, their inability to take a number of good chances means that it felt like an opportunity was missed.

However, the morale-boosting performance means that Stevens is likely to name an unchanged side when the champions arrive at the Mercedes Benz Arena.

Dante is set to replace the suspended Boateng for Bayern, while there could also be a recall for Robert Lewandowski as Guardiola considers changes in attack.

Stuttgart:

Recent form: LDWDLD

Possible starting lineup: Ulreich, Klein, Schwaab, Niedermeier, Baumgartl, Gentner, Hlousek, Sararer, Romeu, Leitner, Harnik

Bayern:

Form in Bundesliga: WWWWLD
Form in all competitions: WWWWLD

Possible starting lineup: Neuer, Bernat, Dante, Benatia, Alaba, Alonso, Schweinsteiger, Gotze, Robben, Muller, Lewandowski

Sports Mole says: 0-3


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Manuel Neuer in a training session on May 24, 2013.
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CBayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen33276087236487
2Bayern MunichBayern33233792415172
3Stuttgart33224774393570
4RB Leipzig33197775373864
5Borussia DortmundDortmund33179764432160
6Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt33111394948146
7Hoffenheim33127146264-243
8Freiburg33119134456-1242
9Heidenheim33912124654-839
10Augsburg33109144958-939
11Werder Bremen33109144453-939
12Wolfsburg33107164053-1337
13Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach33713135663-734
14VfL BochumVfL Bochum33712144170-2933
15Mainz 05Mainz33614133650-1432
16Union BerlinUnion Berlin3386193157-2630
17FC Koln33512162756-2927
RSV Darmstadt 98Darmstadt3338223082-5217


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