After ten days without a league match, FC Bayern are back in contention for important points in the battle for the German championship on Saturday. Coach Thomas Tuchel’s team travel to face Eintracht Frankfurt at 15:30 CET (follow the action with our live text updates and free web radio on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app). He's all you need to know in advance of the game in our preview.
View the best pictures from the final training session on Friday:
FC Bayern’s state of play
Due to the extreme snowfall in Munich, FCB’s home match against Union Berlin last weekend had to be postponed (now rescheduled for 24 January). “The task in the last few days was to stay focused and not slack off. It was very unusual with the long break. But we had a very good week of training," said Tuchel in Friday's press talk. The record champions will now travel to Frankfurt Eintracht with fresh legs. With a win in Hesse, Munich not only want to extend their strong Bundesliga run of six consecutive victories, but also put pressure on leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
FCB are currently three points behind the Werkself but have a game in hand. Three points in Frankfurt would see Munich overtake Leverkusen, who visit third-placed VfB Stuttgart on Sunday, at least for the time being, thanks to their superior goal difference. “We want to take the next step and put everything on the line for the three points. We've trained intensively and aggressively, at a very high level. We must show that on the pitch,” continued Tuchel.
Read the most important outtakes from the press conference with Thomas Tuchel here:
The opponents: Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht suffered the same fate as FC Bayern during the week. The Eagles, too, were defeated by third-division side 1. FC Saarbrücken (2-0) in the DFB Cup. The team coached by Dino Toppmöller, who was assistant coach at FC Bayern from July 2021 to March 2023, have also struggled in the league recently. After a respectable 18 points from the first 11 matchdays, Eintracht suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against VfB Stuttgart and FC Augsburg in the last two league games. “When I analyse Frankfurt, I don't see the recent run of defeats as defining. They are a very good, fast and flexible team with a clear playing style. They favour attractive and technical football,” said FCB supremo Tuchel.
Here are the facts and stats on the clash with the Eagles:
The team news for Frankfurt vs. Bayern
Bayern are without the injury stricken Matthijs de Ligt (knee ligament), who trained with the ball again for the first time on Friday, and Bouna Sarr (cruciate ligament tear). Jamal Musiala will be back in the squad after recovering from a muscle injury. “He won't play a full 90 minutes; we'll have to see if he starts," explained Tuchel.
Frankfurt are without Ellyes Skhiri, ex-FCB man Sebastian Rode, Kristijan Jakić and Timothy Chandler. The inclusion of Robin Koch and Hugo Larsson in the opponents’ squad is also doubtful.
What the coaches say
It's a very emotional atmosphere. We expect Frankfurt to play at the highest level and the fans to push their team. We need to be prepared.
Thomas Tuchel
It's about bringing the basics onto the pitch and being ready from the very first minute.
Dino Toppmöller (head coach, Eintracht Frankfurt)
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