For the first time since 2011-12, Bayern Munich enters the last matchday of the Bundesliga not sitting at the pinnacle of the table. Like that season, Dortmund occupies the top spot in the league and history could repeat itself if BVB secure a victory at home on Saturday.
The sacking of Julian Nagelsmann, the injury to Manuel Neuer, or the tension in Bayern’s locker room, there are multiple reasons that could be laid out for Bayern’s failure. Despite that when Tuchel charge of the club, the German heavyweights were still leading the table by a small margin.
And the midway appointment of the former Chelsea manager might have been the reason for this stumble as the Bavarian giants hope to rely on Mainz to produce an upset against the league leaders.
Tuchel’s men needed inspiration from German midfielder Joshua Kimmich as the midfield machine’s thunderous strike in the last minute secured a point for Bayern the last time the two sides met in January.
A similar result could see their chances of lifting the title fall apart as anything other than three points would put the ball in Dortmund’s court.
Like their rivals, Koln have had an inconsistent Bundesliga campaign. Occupying the 10th spot in the table, the German side have won 10, drawn 12, and lost 11 games in their 33 fixtures so far. Despite all that, The Billy Goats have had a fairly nice conclusion to their domestic campaign.
The German outfit could secure a top-half finish for the second time running with Mainz scheduled to face Borussia Dortmund in their last fixture. Steffen Buamgart’s side have accumulated 10 points from their previous 5 games helping them drift away from the relegation zone and climb up to the midway part of the table.
Although a victory against Bayern Munich could be a challenging task, as the club have lost their previous 8 encounters at home against the Bavarian side- their longest losing run at home soil against any top-flight team.
FC Koln vs Bayern Munich confirmed line-ups
FC Koln XI (4-2-3-1): Schwabe; Schmitz, Hubers, Chabot, Hector; Skhiri, Martel; Ljubicic, Kainz, Maina; Selke
Bayern Munich XI (4-2-3-1): Sommer; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Upamecano, Pavard; Kimmich, Gravenberch; Coman, Muller, Sane; Gnabry
FC Koln vs Bayern Munich LIVE updates
Bayern Munich's upcoming fixtures
Bayern Munich travel to Japan for their set of pre-season friendlies as they face Manchester City and Kawasaki on the 26th of July and 29th of July respectively. They end their tour in Japan with an encounter against Liverpool on the 2nd of August.