MY ACCOUNT
Already crowned champions of Germany for the 10th successive year, Bayern Munich head into Matchday 33 looking to end the season in style as they close in on 100 Bundesliga goals.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side host struggling Stuttgart on Sunday, with second-placed Borussia Dortmund travelling to lowly Greuther Furth a day earlier.
Elsewhere, European contenders Freiburg and Union Berlin face off, while Cologne take on Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig play Augsburg.
Game of the week: Bayern Munich vs Stuttgart (Sunday, 4.30pm)
Having lost to Mainz in their first game after securing the title, Bayern will be aiming to build on their dominant recent record against Stuttgart having won 21 of the last 22 meetings between the pair.
It is proving to be a difficult season for the visitors, who have only twice picked up fewer points by this stage of the campaign and defeat on Sunday could see Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side slip into the bottom two.
Bayern have beaten Stuttgart on 67 occasions down the years — no other team in Bundesliga history has recorded more victories against one opponent.
And just to make the Swabians’ challenge even greater, they travel to the Allianz Arena having managed just one away league win this term. That is fewer than any other side bar Greuther Furth.
Serge Gnabry scored a hat-trick and Robert Lewandowski netted twice as Bayern thrashed Stuttgart 5-0 in December’s reverse fixture.
Here are the other big games to watch this weekend…
Greuther Furth vs Borussia Dortmund (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Dortmund will wrap up second spot with a win over already-relegated Furth — but BVB have just lost back-to-back league matches for the first time since January last year.
With 77 goals conceded in 32 games, the hosts have the Bundesliga’s second-worst defensive record at this stage of a campaign over the last 30 years, only behind last season’s Schalke side.
And that hardly bodes well as they take on this term’s second-top scorers, with the Black and Yellows finding the net 80 times at an average of 2.5 goals per game.
Assuming he features, Furth forward Branimir Hrgota will become the club’s record top-flight appearance maker with 33, surpassing Mergim Mavraj.
Dortmund ran out 3-0 winners in the teams’ previous meeting, with Erling Haaland bagging a brace.
Freiburg vs Union Berlin (Saturday, 2.30pm)
A point for Freiburg will see them rack up their highest top-flight points tally this century — but the Breisgau Brazilians will be chasing a win as they close in on Champions League qualification.
Seventh-placed Union Berlin are the league’s form side over the last five games though, picking up 13 points in April. They will be eyeing Europa Conference League qualification at the very least.
The hosts have been this season’s dead-ball specialists — Christian Streich’s team have scored a league-high 24 goals from such situations.
Union will hope to avoid falling victim to Freiburg’s set-piece prowess as they try to win three successive top-flight away games for the first time.
There was not much to write home about when these two last faced off, in a 0-0 draw in the capital last December.
Cologne vs Wolfsburg (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Four wins on the spin have propelled Cologne to the cusp of the top-four battle — a fifth successive victory would see them record their longest winning streak since 1985.
Having confirmed safety with a 1-1 draw at Stuttgart last time out, Wolfsburg should be able to play with freedom. They could go three games unbeaten for the first time since November.
The hosts have been in prolific form in front of goal lately though, finding the net at least three times in each of those four straight victories. The Billy Goats have not done so in five consecutive games for 52 years.
So it might be a long afternoon for the visitors, who could go six away outings without a win for the first time since January 2018.
The Wolves led the reverse meeting twice, but Cologne ultimately triumphed 3-2 with Anthony Modeste scoring a brace.
RB Leipzig vs Augsburg (Sunday, 6.30pm)
Bruised by Thursday’s Europa League exit at Rangers and suffering back-to-back league defeats, Leipzig need a big reaction on Sunday.
While they ought to be safe, Augsburg are not out of the woods just yet. They still need a point to guarantee top-flight football for another season.
The hosts will be favourites to secure a result, however. They have gone 10 games unbeaten against Augsburg — longer than against any other team in their 13-year history.
The visitors go into this contest as the only side not to score a goal from a fast break in the Bundesliga this term, in stark contrast to Leipzig, who have scored a league-high 10.
These two played out a 1-1 draw earlier in the campaign, with Daniel Caligiuri equalising from the penalty spot for Augsburg late on.
The weekend’s other games
Bochum vs Arminia Bielefeld (Friday, 7.30pm)
Hoffenheim vs Bayer Leverkusen (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Hertha Berlin vs Mainz (Saturday, 5,30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Monchengladbach (Sunday, 2.30pm)
Follow each game with our unbeatable live scores service. Simply tap the Scores tab on the web or download the LiveScore app from the App Store for iOS devices or Google Play for Android.
