Louis van Gaal’s Bayern Munich lost any chance of competing for a second consecutive Bundesliga title some time ago, but they still have plenty to play for with a place in next year’s Champions League far from assured. Mainz 05 were one of the sides that put Bayern out of the title race; their 2-1 victory at the Allianz Arena in September shocked the defending champions, but didn’t prove enough of a boost for die Nullfunfer to mount a title challenge of their own.
Mainz 05 Vs. Bayern Munich: Pre-Match Primer
Now that the meisterschaft looks headed to Dortmund, both of these sides’ main concern is securing European football for next season. Bayern were in third place, the final Champions League spot, to start the weekend, but Hannover’s victory over Kaiserslautern in one of the early kickoffs has pushed the Bavarian side down to fourth, while Freiburg are now level on points with Mainz in fifth, the last Europa League place. Victory for either side would be a big step towards a Champions League place, and Bayern surely still have their eyes on catching up with Bayer Leverkusen in second.
Bayern starting XI is unchanged from the side that beat Hoffenheim 4-0 at the Allianz Arena last week, although Toni Kroos has recovered from nearly fracturing his metatarsal late in 2010 and could come off the bench. Jan Kirchoff, Marcel Riise, and Petar Sliskovic return to the starting lineup for Thomas Tuchel as Niko Bungert, Lewis Holtby and Malik Fathi have been dropped to the bench after a 4-2 defeat in Cologne.
Mainz 05: Müller; Noveski, Kirchoff, Fuchs, Zabavnik; Polanski, Caligiuri, Schürrle, Riise; Sliskovic, Allagui
Subs: Wetklo, Bungert, Fathi, Soto, Holtby, Heller, Ivanschitz
Bayern Munich: Kraft; Gustavo, Badstuber, Tymoshchuk, Lahm; Pranjic, Schweinsteiger; Ribéry, Müller, Robben; Gómez
Subs: Butt, Van Buyten, Breno, Altintop, Kroos, Ottl, Klose
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