Bayern set for final game of the season at Hoffenheim

Bayern take to the pitch for the final time in the 2023/24 season as they visit Hoffenheim looking to secure second place with a victory on Saturday (kick-off at 3.30pm CEST, coverage on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app with our live text commentary and free web radio). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 34 fixture in our preview.

Check out the photos from final training on Friday:

State of play

Last weekend’s 2-0 win at home to Wolfsburg means Bayern go into the final day of the Bundesliga season in second place. Victory in Sinsheim will ensure they finish as runners-up behind Bayer Leverkusen. Nearest challengers VfB Stuttgart are two points behind and host Borussia Mönchengladbach, with all games kicking off simultaneously on Saturday.

The match will also be the last in charge of the club for Thomas Tuchel. “It's worth taking a nuanced look at the season. Of course, a very disappointing performance in the DFB Cup. The Champions League campaign was almost perfect until the 87th minute in Madrid. In the Bundesliga, we’re second and still fighting for that place. Given the circumstances we faced, our points total isn’t one to be ashamed of,” the 50-year-old said in his press conference on Friday looking back at recent months. It also means the team need to give 100 percent one final time this season.

Read more from Tuchel in his pre-match press conference here:

Opponent: Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim come into the final day still with a chance of qualifying for Europe next season. In theory, all outcomes remain a possibility. They are currently seventh but can still finish sixth, with the gap to Eintracht Frankfurt just three points, or in eighth, currently occupied by Freiburg a point behind. It will only be known which competition each of those places will (or won’t) qualify for after the season and the winners of the DFB Cup and Champions League are known. “We always strive for the maximum. Our goal is simple, and we can’t look sideways. It’ll be demanding against Bayern, but it’s not that complicated. Win the game and then see,” said TSG coach Pellegrino Matarazzo looking ahead to Saturday’s encounter.

Read up on the stats ahead of the game:

Team news

Bayern remain without long-term injury absentees Kingsley Coman (adductor), Serge Gnabry (hamstring), Raphael Guerreiro (ankle), Bouna Sarr (ACL) and Tarek Buchmann (muscular). They will also go to Sinsheim without Harry Kane, Leroy Sané, Minjae Kim, Sacha Boey, Jamal Musiala and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Hoffenheim are missing Stanley Nsoki, Dennis Geiger and Mergim Berisha.

What the coaches say