Wolfsburg welcome champions Bayern Munich for their 34th and last Bundesliga encounter of the season.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich will travel to the Volkswagen Arena to face 13th-placed Wolfsburg in their last league assignment of the season. The Bavarian giants secured their tenth consecutive league title this season but have failed to register a win in both their matches since being crowned champions.
They enter the Wolfsburg encounter fresh off a 2-2 draw with VfB Stuttgart, a match they finished with ten men as Kingsley Coman was sent off in the injury time. Bayern were defeated 3-1 by Mainz in the encounter right after mathematically winning the title with a 3-1 demolition of second-placed Borussia Dortmund.
Wolfsburg, on the other hand, are currently 13th in the Bundesliga table with 41 points in 33 matches. They have the opportunity of breaking into the top-10 if they manage to beat Bayern in the upcoming encounter.
While Eintracht Frankfurt, who are 12th, have as many points as Wolfsburg, 10th and 11th placed Borussia Monchengladbach and VfL Bochum, respectively, have a point more. Die Wolfe have lost just once in their last five league matches – a 6-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund – and thus enter the Bayern game high on confidence.
They defeated seventh-placed FC Koln 1-0 in their last match-up with Yannick Gerhardt scoring the only goal of the match. Wolfsburg will want to end the season on a high with a win against the league champions.
Team News & Tactics
Wolfsburg
Florian Kohfeldt could have a long list of absentees for their final game of the season. Paulo Otavio, Luca Waldschmidt, Felix Nmecha and William are expected to miss the encounter due to respective injuries. Central defender Sebastiaan Bornauw, goalkeeper Koen Casteels and full-back Jerome Roussillon will all return to the squad for the final matchday, Kohfeldt has confirmed.
? #Kohfeldt: Koen #Casteels, Jerome #Roussillon, and Sebastiaan #Bornauw will be available again on Saturday.#WOBFCB pic.twitter.com/oSyk356Ji1
— VfL Wolfsburg EN/US ?? ?? (@VfLWolfsburg_EN) May 12, 2022
The Wolfsburg manager is expected to revert to a 4-3-3 with first-choice shot-stopper Casteels returning between the sticks. The incoming Roussillon could be the only change in the back four that started against Koln with Ridle Baku, Maxence Lacroix and John Brooks retaining their spots.
Xaver Schlager, Maximilian Arnold and Yannick Gerhardt are all expected to start in the midfield again with Jonas Wind, Max Kruse and Lukas Nmecha featuring in the attack that will look to expose a vulnerable Bayern Munich backline.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Casteels; Baku, Lacroix, Brooks, Roussillon; Schlager, Arnold, Gerhardt; Wind, Kruse, L. Nmecha
Bayern Munich
Julian Nagelsmann will be without Kingsley Coman, who is suspended for the encounter. Bouna Sarr will miss through an injury as well while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is doubtful for the encounter. The Bayern Munich manager confirmed that Marc Roca and Corentin Tolisso are both ill and will not make the trip to Wolfsburg.
?️ @J__Nagelsmann: "@marcroca21 and @CorentinTolisso are ill. Marc has a cold, Coco has something similar but also had an upset stomach yesterday. Both likely won't make the trip to Wolfsburg."#WOBFCB pic.twitter.com/51Mcpu0NvL
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) May 13, 2022
The Bayern manager has confirmed that Josip Stanisic will start at right-back which means Benjamin Pavard will sit out the final match of the season. Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Hernandez and Alphonso Davies are expected to complete the back four.
Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka will play in a double pivot at the centre of the park with Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane, expected to replace Coman, playing as the three attacking midfielders.
Robert Lewandowski, who is the league’s highest goalscorer with 34 strikes, is expected to lead the line for Bayern. This could be the Poland striker’s last match for the Bavarian giants as rumours of a Barcelona move continue to make the rounds.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Stanisic, Upamecano, Hernandez, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Gnabry, Müller, Sane; Lewandowski
Key Stats
- Robert Lewandowski has scored 24 goals in 21 league matches against VfL Wolfsburg. He famously scored five goals in nine minutes against Saturday’s opponents in 2017.
- Bayern Munich have scored 47 away goals this season and have the opportunity to break the record for most away goals scored in a league season (48).
- Wolfsburg captain Maximilian Arnold has covered the most ground in the Bundesliga this season with 363.4 kilometres.
- Bayern have won 12 of their last 13 Bundesliga matches against Wolfsburg.
- In 34 matches between the two sides, the Bavarian giants have won 28, lost three and three matches have finished in a draw.
Player to Watch
Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski is the first player in Bundesliga history to score 34+ goals in three consecutive seasons in the competition ???? pic.twitter.com/pXXsCqCP6n
— LiveScore (@livescore) May 8, 2022
Robert Lewandowski is easily the biggest player to watch out for in the encounter. He has been linked with a move to Barcelona, and this could be the striker’s last match for the German champions. If the 33-year-old leaves Bayern after this match, he will finish as their second-highest goalscorer of all time with 343 goals behind the legendary Gerd Muller.
Lewandowski has scored 34 league goals this season and will want to add more to his tally and sign off in style on Saturday.
Prediction
Wolfsburg 1-3 Bayern Munich
Wolfsburg have scored in all of their last five league matches. Thus, they are expected to score against Bayern but defeating the champions could be too big of a task. On the other hand, Lewandowski could be playing his final match for the Bavarian giants, and he would want to finish on a high. We predict a 3-1 win for Bayern Munich.