Bayern Munich will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s shock defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach when they visit FC Koln in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Despite that loss, Bayern are still seven points clear at the top of the table and remain on course to clinch a record tenth straight title.
Koln, on the other hand, find themselves sixth – two points outside the top four. However, they trail Bayern by a whopping 15 points.
Bayern suffered just their third league defeat of the season last time out. They have won 14 of their 18 Bundesliga matches this term, picking up one draw along the way.
It is worth noting that Julian Nagelsmann’s side were enjoying a five-match winning streak before losing to Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend.
The Bavarians are currently the top scorers in the Bundesliga, having netted 57 goals this season. As a result, they are averaging just over three goals per game.
With that in mind, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that Bayern have scored at least one goal in each of their previous 52 league outings.
Across all competitions, all of Bayern’s past 13 away games have produced over 2.5 goals. For that reason, we should see plenty of goals on Saturday.
As for Koln, they head into Saturday’s clash on a three-game winning streak – having seen off Wolfsburg, Stuttgart and Hertha since their last loss.
When you look at the bigger picture, they have lost only one of their previous nine home matches in the Bundesliga.
Across Koln’s past ten Bundesliga matches, their encounters have produced a combined total of 31 goals – averaging 3.1 goals per game.
With Bayern also being involved in numerous high-scoring matches of late, expect to see plenty of action at both ends of the pitch on Saturday.
Head-to-head: Bayern Munich have won each of their last eight meetings with FC Koln across all competitions.
It is also worth pointing out that Koln have failed to beat Bayern in any of their previous 15 matches across all competitions.
Team news: Koln have no fresh injury concerns. However, there are question marks over the fitness of defensive midfielder Ellyes Skhiri.
On the flip side, Bayern have multiple COVID-19 cases in their camp. Leon Goretzka and Kingsley Coman are injured, while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Bouna Sarr are away at AFCON.
Although Bayern are not at full strength at the moment, they should have enough quality to overcome Koln.
Forebet predicts that Koln and Bayern will play out a high-scoring thriller on Saturday, with the defending champions coming out on top.