Bayern Munich take the field against Wolfsburg on Tuesday in the biggest Bundesliga match of the season thus far. Second takes on third at the Allianz Arena, and more than bragging rights are on the line in this one. Precious few points separate the big boys at the top of the table, and this is expected to continue throughout the season.
A Bayern victory would move them seven points ahead of Wolfsburg in really separated BVB and Bayern from the rest of the pack. On the other hand, if Wolfsburg did manage to beat the Bavarians, they would pull themselves close to Bayern, while BVB had the opportunity push their lead at the top.
Robert "Big Shot Bob" Lewandowski returns to the Munich side after missing the match in Darmstadt at the weekend with a minor ankle injury. It's expected that he will get the nod from the start in order to challenge the Brazilian centerback pair of Dante and Naldo. Lewandowski's combination of speed and power will be a big challenge for the two to deal with.
The big obstacle for Bayern in the match will remain what they do or don't do with the centerback position. With Jerome Boateng being the only healthy centerback option as Medhi Benatia and Holger Badstuber are still sidelined with injuries, we could see anyone from David Alaba or Xabi Alonso partnering with Boateng.
Once the lineups are released, this thread will be updated.
Location: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
Time: 8:00 pm local time, 1:00 pm ET
TV/Streaming: USA (Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports Deportes, Fox Soccer 2 Go, Fox Sports Go), Canada (Sportsnet World, Sportsnet World Now), Germany (Sky Bundesliga 1, Sky Go)
Full Listings: Other Countries
Bayern Munich
Douglas Costa - Mario Götze - Thomas Müller
Arturo Vidal - Xabi Alonso - Thiago Alcantara
Juan Bernat - David Alaba - Jerome Boateng - Philipp Lahm
Manuel Neuer
Bench:Sven Ulreich, Javi Martinez, Robert Lewandowski, Rafinha, Sebastian Rode, Kingsley Coman, Joshua Kimmich
Wolfsburg
Bas Dost
Julian Draxler - Max Kruse - Daniel Caliguiri
Luiz Gustavo - Joshua Guilavogui
Ricardo Rodriguez - Dante - Naldo - Christian Traesch
Diego Benaglio
Bench: TBD
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