Heidenheim vs Bayern Munich

Voith-Arena is the venue as mid-table Heidenheim and reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich trade tackles in only their second top-flight duel

Heidenheim left Stuttgart with a bitter taste in their mouths after conceding a stoppage-time equalizer in a goal-glutted 3-3 draw, extending their winless league run to six matches (D3, L3). Despite this rotten patch, the Bundesliga newbies commence this round ten points clear of the drop zone, meaning they should secure survival without much fuss. Relieved of the relegation pressure, Heidenheim will look to punch above their weight against a more heavily fancied Bayern Munich and defy an underwhelming run of just one win in 12 encounters against sides starting this round in the top seven (D3, L8). But they’d need to improve at the back to stand a fighting chance after conceding 2+ goals in four of their last six league outings, which was the case in a thumping 4-2 defeat in November’s reverse fixture.

On the other hand, Bayern Munich’s embarrassing 2-0 Der Klassiker fiasco against bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund marked the end of their hopes of winning a 12th consecutive Bundesliga title, leaving them 13 points adrift of unbeaten leaders Bayer Leverkusen. After a rare scoring blank, the Bavarians stare down the barrel of a two-game losing league run for only the second time this season. But having netted nine goals in their last two H2Hs, Thomas Tuchel’s men are confident of getting back on track. Adding to this sentiment, the perennial German champions have claimed 11 wins in 12 matches against sides beginning this round ranked 11th or lower, bagging 3+ goals on seven occasions! But there’s no room for complacency, considering they’ve only won once in their last five away games across all competitions (D1, L3).