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Without a win in their last two league games, Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich welcome FC Koln to the Allianz Arena on Saturday night.
Bayern lost in the Bundesliga last weekend, going down 2-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt. In a first half where the champions were nowhere near the usual standards they set for themselves, they were two goals down, with Daichi Kamada and Amin Younes scoring for the Eagles.
Robert Lewandowski pulled a goal back for Bayern in the second half, but they could not go on to take even a point from that game.
However, they set things right in midweek with a superb win in Rome against Lazio. Bayern raced to a 3-0 lead in the first half of the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie, and eventually won the game 4-1.
On Saturday, they face Koln, who have lost their last two league games as well. They are still not out of trouble in terms of the relegation battle in the Bundesliga, sitting in 14th place. They have three points more than Hertha Berlin and Arminia Bielefeld, who are currently 15th and 16th respectively.
After losing 2-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt a fortnight ago, Koln lost 1-0 to Stuttgart last weekend, with Sasa Kalajdszic scoring the only goal of the game.
Bayern Munich vs FC Koln Head-to-Head
Bayern have won 20 of the last 32 matches played between these two sides, with Koln winning just three of those games.
Thomas Muller and Serge Gnabry scored first-half goals in the reverse fixture at the RheinEnergie Stadion in October where Bayern won 2-1.
Bayern Munich form guide: W-L-D-W-W
FC Koln form guide: L-L-W-L-W
Bayern Munich vs FC Koln Team News
Bayern Munich
The champions were dealt a blow with the news that Corentin Tolisso is likely to miss the rest of the season. Douglas Costa has also already been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign. Benjamin Pavard is likely to remain ruled out after having tested positive for COVID-19, but Thomas Muller is back in training.
Alexander Nubel and Tanguy Nianzou, who have missed the last few weeks of action, will continue to miss out. Gnabry is back in training though.
Injured: Corentin Tolisso, Douglas Costa, Alexander Nubel, Tanguy Nianzou
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Benjamin Pavard
FC Koln
Sebastiaan Bornauw is ruled out with a back injury, while Jonas Hector is doubtful with a muscle problem. Florian Kainz and Sebastian Andersson are still recovering from injuries as well.
Injured: Sebastiaan Bornauw. Florian Kainz, Sebastian Andersson, Marius Wolf
Doubtful: Jonas Hector
Suspended: None
Bayern Munich vs FC Koln Predicted XIs
Bayern Munich Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Manuel Neuer; Niklas Sule, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, Alphonso Davies; Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich; Kingsley Coman, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane; Robert Lewandowski
FC Koln Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Timo Horn; Rafael Czichos, Jorge Mere, Sava-Arangel Cestic; Kingsley Ehizibue, Ellyes Skhiri, Salih Ozcan, Jannes Horn; Elvis Rexhbecaj, Ondrej Duda; Emmanuel Dennis
Bayern Munich vs FC Koln Prediction
The champions have momentum back on their side after that thumping win over Lazio on Tuesday. With Koln struggling in the past couple of weeks, we are predicting that this will be a tough game for them.
Bayern Munich should win this one convincingly
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3-0 FC Koln
