After the international hiatus, all of Europe's big leagues - the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, and Ligue 1 - are finally back in action. With just seven games remaining, Bayern Munich are inching ever closer to clinching a historic fourth straight league title, and given that they will be resuming European competition next week, Pep Guardiola surely will want his side to start off the month on the right footing against struggling side Eintracht Frankfurt this Saturday.
Bayern Munich
With a five point gap dividing Bayern Munich from Borussia Dortmund, die Roten are on course to make it a fourth consecutive league crown. However, unlike in prior seasons where the Bavarians cruised to victory without too much fuss, this season has been somewhat more closely contested due to Dortmund's resurgence. And as football fans may have seen in other leagues, five points sometimes are not enough to ensure victory, so Guardiola will be expecting his men to pick up as many points as possible between now and the end of the season.
In their last match before the international hiatus, Bayern labored quite a bit against Koln, but a solitary strike from the in-form Robert Lewandowski was enough to get the job done. Die Roten will be hoping that the Polish international, who is currently the league's top goalscorer with 25 goals, will pick up exactly from where he left off. Although the Bavarian powerhouse have been given a relative "easier" Champions League draw with Benfica, they nonetheless will be wary of Portuguese outfits after Porto gave them a bit of trouble in the first leg.
Guardiola will still be missing the services of Holger Badstuber and Jerome Boateng due to long-term injuries, and Arjen Robben has reportedly joined that list. Javi Martinez, who was out for quite some time, has made a full recovery and could be re-instated in the starting XI in order to help him gain match fitness for the team's busy fixture list ahead.
The last meeting between Bayern Munich and upcoming opponents Eintracht Frankfurt ended in a surprise scoreless draw. To date, die Adler are just one of three teams - the others being Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund - to successfully keep the reigning Bundesliga champions from scoring.
However, since a surprise reversal to Mainz, Bayern Munich have not conceded a single goal, and have netted six goals in their past three games. As such, the visitors will face a tough time trying to keep them quiet this time around at the Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Eintracht Frankfurt
With just one win in their past nine games, Eintracht Frankfurt are truly having a miserable run, and coach Armin Veh has paid the price. After his sacking, former Croatian national team manager Niko Kovac now has the unenviable task of helping die Adler navigate their way up the league table. At this point, Saturday's visitors have 27 points and presently sit in 17th place, meaning that they indeed are in danger of relegation to the second tier unless if they arrest their poor run of form.
Fortunately, there are still seven games left to play. More important, a look at the bottom part of the table will probably give Frankfurt fans some hope. Darmstadt and Werder Bremen, who are in 13th and 14th place, are just one point ahead in the table, meaning that a win or a draw here and there could see them manage to remain in German football's top flight for yet another season.
The visitors, who will be without Bamba Anderson, Johannes Flum, Stefan Reinartz, Mijat Gacinovic, Slobodan Medojevic, and possibly Alexander Meier due to injury, have not beaten Bayern Munich since March 20, 2010. In drawing them earlier this season, Frankfurt managed to pick up a point versus die Roten for the first time since April 23, 2011 - and this also was the last time they scored against the Bavarian powerhouse.
From then until their 0-0 draw on October 30th of last year, Franfurt lost each and every single one of their six meetings, all without scoring a single goal. In fact, it has been nearly five years since they last managed to score, and the visitors will have to overturn that long-standing hoodoo if they want to get anything out of this match.
Which channel is broadcasting Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt on TV or Online?
For all intents and purposes, this looks like a straightforward win for Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. However, despite Frankfurt's struggles, Guardiola will definitely field a strong starting XI to make sure die Roten pick up all three points before turning their attention to European affairs next week.
Too far away to make it to the Allianz Arena? No problem. LiveSoccerTV.com has put together some choices to tune in via TV, computer, phone, or tablet.
Here are some options for fans residing elsewhere in Germany and in the following countries:
- In the USA at 9.30 EST on: GOLTV USA, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, Fox Sports GO, Fox Sports 2 USA
- In Germany at 15.30 CET on: Sky Bundesliga 1/HD, Sky Bundesliga 2/HD, Sport1.FM, Sky Go Deutschland, TeleClub Sport Live
- In Canada at 9.30 ET on: Sportsnet World, Sportsnet World Now
Live elsewhere? Check out our special Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt broadcast page for viewing times and options for your current location.
*Note: Live broadcast data is subject to change*
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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