Victory against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday will see table-topper Bayern Munich win a record 23rd German championship (22nd in the Bundesliga era) and end a two-year wait for a major trophy.
After the astonishing 9-2 demolition of Hamburg last weekend and a clinical victory over Italian champion Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday, the Bayern juggernaut has rolled on. With 10 wins out of 10 in the league in 2013, another victory here would give the Bavarians an unassailable lead over defending champion and second-placed Borussia Dortmund, which meets Augsburg.
Bayern’s current cushion of 20 points has never been made up in German league history and the points tally of 72 in 27 games is its best-ever. However, amidst the joy of a potentially title-deciding weekend, Bayern will have to make do without the creative Toni Kroos who is out for the next six-eight weeks. The 23-year-old midfielder tore his groin muscle against Juventus.
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Frankfurt, on the other hand, ended a six-game winless streak against Greuther Furth the previous weekend. The result was enough to keep it neck-and-neck with Schalke in the fight for not only a ticket to Europe, but also a scarcely-dreamt-of-shot at the Champions League.
Hoffenheim vs Fortuna
In Friday night’s game, host 1899 Hoffenheim will aim to boost its survival chances with a win over Fortuna Dusseldorf.
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The Sinsheim-based club has joined the list of those with revolving managerial doors, with Marco Kurz being the latest to see red this week. Former first-team assistant and under-23 coach Markus Gisdol is Hoffenheim’s fourth manager this season in what is turning out to be a desperate battle to avoid the drop.
Four points adrift of Augsburg in the relegation play-off spot and trailing 15th-placed Fortuna by nine with only seven games remaining, Hoffenheim has a battle on its hands to extend its five-year presence in the top-flight.