Bayern Munich will be aiming to remain top of the Bundesliga when they host VfL Bochum this Saturday.
The visitors, meanwhile, moved outside of the bottom three by winning a fifth successive home match last weekend.
Having drawn three consecutive matches following the return of the Bundesliga after the recent World Cup in Qatar, Bayern were under significant pressure to beat Wolfsburg and return to top of the table.
Indeed, Union Berlin’s 2-1 win against Mainz 05 on Saturday had seen Urs Fischer’s side reach the summit ahead of Bayern’s trip to Lower Saxony on Sunday, but an early brace from Kingsley Coman settled any Bavarian nerves before Thomas Muller gave his team a healthy three-goal cushion within the opening 20 minutes.
Securing three points appeared much less of a certainty when Jakub Kaminski pulled one back on the stroke of half time before Joshua Kimmich was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence nine minutes after the break, but Jamal Musiala’s strike rendered Mattias Svanberg’s goal little more than a consolation late on.
With none of their rivals playing before them this weekend, Bayern have the chance to lay down a marker by beating Bochum at the Allianz Arena to ensure that they remain in pole position in the league ahead of a mouth-watering trip to the French capital to take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.
Bochum, meanwhile, continue to recover from an incredibly difficult start to the campaign in miraculous fashion, with their 5-2 win against Hoffenheim last weekend moving them outside of the relegation places.
After picking up just one point from their opening eight league games, Bochum appeared to have been struck by ‘second season syndrome’ having comfortably survived their first season back in Germany’s top-flight for more than a decade. However, the decision to replace Thomas Reis – who has since joined relegation rivals Schalke 04 – with Thomas Letsch has already been vindicated.
Indeed, since leaving Vitesse Arnhem to join Die Unabsteigbaren in late September, the 54-year-old has astonishingly won all five of his home games in charge in the league, beating top sides such as Eintracht Frankfurt and Union Berlin while winning six-pointers against Hertha Berlin and Hoffenheim along the way.
Bochum were beaten by Borussia Dortmund at Vonovia Ruhrstadion in the DFB-Pokal in midweek, though, as they missed out on the chance to reach the quarter-finals of Germany’s domestic cup for the fourth time in 11 seasons.
Having lost six of his seven away games on the road in the Bundesliga, there clearly remains plenty of work for Letsch to do if Bochum are to remain clear of danger, although they will be realistic regarding their chances at the home of the reigning champions on Saturday.
Source: SPORTMOLE
