Prediction: Bayern Munich vs Borussia Monchengladbach

Verdict: Leon Goretzka to score

Best odds: 41/20

Bookmaker: 888sport

As a part of the 31st round of the 2019/20 Bundesliga season, Bayern Munchen will welcome Borussia Monchengladbach to the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening, in a game that could potentially clinch another title for the defending champions.

Bayern Munich

Having been crowned champions seven times in a row ahead of this season, Bayern are now looking strong to keep their crown once more. The race may have been exciting until recently, but ever since they beat second-place Borussia Dortmund directly at the Signal Iduna Park on May 26th, the gap between the two rivals has been seven points wide. They now have a total of 70,  with Dortmund on 63. Dortmund are strong favorites to return triumphant from their trip to Dusseldorf on Saturday afternoon, but should they somehow fail to beat 16th-place Fortuna, Bayern will have a chance to secure the title mathematically by beating Monchengladbach here. On the other hand, if the two games go the other way around, their lead will be cut to four points again with three rounds still to go.

However, Bayern’s recent league form won’t have given their supporters any reason to worry. They are without a doubt the dominant force in German football round now, and the fact that they won all of their last six league matches backs up that claim strongly. To boot, they’ve now reached the final of the DFB-Pokal as well, having beaten Eintracht Frankfurt in the semifinals a few days ago.

Team News

The table position and form may be good news for the home side, but one thing they won’t be happy about is the fact that coach Hans-Dieter Flick won’t be able to count on goals from his on-fire attacking duo. Both Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller are suspended after they picked up a yellow card each in the previous round. Winger Serge Gnabry missed the cup triumph through a sore back, and it remains to be seen if he makes it. However, Flick has quite enough high-quality attacking players in his ranks. It is very likely that we see Ivan Perisic, who scored against Eintracht, and Kingsley Coman both in the starting XI. Joshua Zirkzee, a 19-year-old striker, might get a chance too.

Borussia Monchengladbach

Having been in the title race themselves for a long period of the season, Gladbach have fallen out of it some time ago. Now even their place in next season’s Champions League is under threat as they battle against RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen not to be the team that finishes fifth. It is Leverkusen who occupy the unwanted spot at the moment, but they have the same number of points (53) as Gladbach, and it’s only goal-difference that keeps them in that order. Leipzig are a little better placed, in third with three points more.

Looking at it from their own perspective, Gladbach’s form hasn’t been bad, though it could’ve been better. From their last six outings, they won three, drew one and lost two. They will certainly have been disappointed with the defeat they suffered away to Freiburg in the previous round.

Team News

Like Bayern, Marco Rose’s team have a problem upfront, with striker Alassane Plea out of contention following the red card he received against Freiburg. Rose’s options will, however, been boosted by the return of Bree Embolo from injury, as well as that of midfielder Raffael.

Conclusion

Despite the absence of Muller and Lewandowski, it’s hard to see Bayern stumbling now. As has already been said, they have squad depth that many clubs can only dream of. The lack of the two forwards may make them a bit less hungry throughout the whole 90 minutes, but the victory is hard to doubt. Midfielder Leon Goretzka is a man on hot form, for example, and a goal from the former Schalke man here wouldn’t really be a surprise.

Verdict: Leon Goretzka to score

Best odds: 41/20

Bookmaker: 888sport