User Review
( votes)Bayern’s relentless pursuit of yet another Bundesliga title looks unstoppable and tomorrow’s opponents Stuttgart look ill-equipped to halt the Bavarian’s dominance.
The match pits the league’s top scorers against the team with the joint worst defensive record – Bayern are prolific under Pep Guardiola and averaging three goals a game with 33 scored in their first 11.
They have conceded just four in those games and sit five points clear of Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga through their near perfect start to the season.
Their last league match saw them drop points for the first time having taken the maximum three from their first ten games.
Ten from 11 for Stuttgart
Stuttgart have endured a different start and sit fourth from bottom with ten points from their 11 games. Recent form suggests a change in fortune for Stuttgart who have managed three wins in their last four matches to rise out of the relegation zone but online football tipsters won’t be backing them to add to their points tally tomorrow.
However, Stuttgart coach Alexander Zorniger buoyed by his sides upturn and is hopeful they can take something from Munich.
He is not getting carried away though and remains realistic as to the challenge ahead, saying: “A master plan against Bayern does not exist.
“Every team is beatable, under certain conditions. We will go to Munich in order to provide them with a challenge.”
If Stuttgart can cause an upset they will end a run of 13 consecutive defeats against the German champions. The last time they beat Bayern was a 2-1 Bundesliga win in March 2010 and much will depend on midfielder Daniel Divadi’s display as to whether they can repeat that result on Saturday.
Divadi is Stuttgart’s leading scorer with four in 11 games but his side have only managed 17 so far and it is Bayern, who unsurprisingly, hold the far greater goal threat.
Six in six for Muller
Robert Lewandowski might be experiencing a bit of a lull in front of goal, with just two in his last six games in all competitions for Die Roten, but Thomas Muller has stepped up and been banging in goals from all angles – hitting six in his last six games.
His brace in the Champions League 5-1 drubbing of Arsenal saw Muller edge ahead of legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in Bayern’s all time European goal scorers list, on 32. Muller remarked: “It’s really nice to know. I’m pleased to have achieved it as he is a big name in European and world football.”
Muller, who was linked to Manchester United over the summer, will need to more than double his tally if he is to overtake Gerd Muller’s 66 goals for Bayern in Europe, and added: “It will be more difficult but I’ll try my best.”
The 26-year-old suggested he would need to play another decade to beat Muller’s record, adding: “I could do it but playing for Bayern until then would mean playing at this level for 15 years, which isn’t easy, physically or mentally.”
By: Joe Cahal