Bayern set for ‘top match’ as Eintracht Frankfurt come to Munich

The big games continue to come thick and fast for Bayern as they now prepare to host Eintracht Frankfurt at the Allianz Arena this Sunday in the Bundesliga (kick-off at 5.30pm CET, live coverage on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app with our text commentary and free web radio). Here’s all you need to know ahead of this Matchday 23 encounter with the third-placed Eagles.

Check out the best photos from final training on Saturday:

Latest news from Bayern

Bayern have had a run of crucial fixtures of late. Either side of the Champions League play-off legs against Celtic (2-1 win in Glasgow, 1-1 draw in Munich) as Vincent Kompany’s men booked their place in the last 16, they also played out a goalless draw away at Bayer Leverkusen to maintain an eight-point lead at the top of the table. That cushion is the minimum that the Bavarians want to have come Sunday evening as they seek a 10th straight win at home in the Bundesliga. “It’ll be a top match,” Kompany said at Saturday’s press conference ahead of hosting third-placed Frankfurt. “We know we can create special moments in this stadium,” he added.

There’s no doubt that the past few weeks, with 11 games in the space of 43 days, have been intense and energy-sapping. However, the Belgian’s team have produced consistent results and are unbeaten in their last seven competitive fixtures. Given the multitude of matches, it isn’t easy “to produce the same level of performance throughout the season,” according to Kompany, who’s now only focused on getting the best out of his team this Sunday. “To be successful, we always focus on the next game.”

Read more from the pre-match press conference with Kompany and Christoph Freund here:

Opponent: Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht are enjoying a historically good campaign. Only once before have they had 42 points on the board from 22 games, while they are also unbeaten in their last seven Bundesliga matches (W4, D3). Their position in third is more than deserved, with Kompany also acknowledging that Sunday’s opponents have done a lot of things right so far. “They have a good mix of talent, speed, physically and goalscoring,” the boss said.

Frankfurt needed a late equaliser to snatch a point off Bayern in the reverse fixture with a 3-3 draw. Their coach Dino Toppmöller put that result down to a strong team performance, while he wants to cause the league leaders problems again in this meeting in Munich. “We need a good plan, a top performance, luck on our side and a high tolerance for frustration. Bayern are a team who play in a very dominant way and often have the ball. We need to come through periods where it’s not that fun, when you’re chasing the ball,” the ex-Bayern assistant said. “If we put those components together, we believe we can get a point or maybe even more.”

Read up on the facts ahead of the game:

Team news

Kompany remains without goalkeeper Daniel Peretz due to a kidney issue. As for Harry Kane and Joshua Kimmich, the coach insisted he will have to wait till the last minute to see if they are fit enough to play after an intense spell.

Frankfurt have Oscar Højlund and Ellyes Skhiri fit for Sunday’s trip to Bavaria. There’s a doubt over Mario Götze after the former Bayern man sat out training with a cold. Robin Koch (shoulder) and Igor Matanovic (foot) are still on the sidelines.

A substitution mistake by Giovanni Trapattoni had a big impact on a fixture with Frankfurt 30 years ago:

What the coaches say