It took patience and came at a tremendous cost, but Bayern Munich finally broke their scoring duck against Hoffenheim on Tuesday as Thomas Mueller equalised through a rebound from Franck Ribery. Mueller’s goal came after 332 minutes of scoreless football from the defending champions, who were within minutes of setting a team record for longest time between Bundesliga goals.
After scoring once, Bayern looked much more adept in attack than in recent weeks, and pressed on for a winner. Deep in injury time, Daniel van Buyten pounced on his opportunity to poke home a winner, and Bayern earned their first win since their opening day triumph over Wolfsburg.
Although the victory was a crucial point in the season for Bayern, their celebrations were cut short when Ribery was carried off the pitch. After he shot on goal to set up Mueller’s equaliser, the Frenchman landed awkwardly on his ankle, and had to be taken off the pitch.
There were some concerns that Ribery’s injury would require surgery, but they were alleviated when it was revealed that the gifted winger would be out for only a month, with no need for an operation.
Just as they had to last autumn, Bayern will now have to manage without the services of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben. A year ago, the Bavarians struggled under similar circumstances, and were in mid-table for much of the fall term.
Coincidentally, their season completely turned around when Van Buyten struck a late winner against Frankfurt. Now Bayern will hope that history repeats itself and their peak form returns as they host surprise league leaders Mainz.
Mainz To Make It Six-For-Six?
On Tuesday, for the first time in three rounds, Andre Schuerrle wasn’t the super substitute to inspire Mainz to victory. Rather, it was red-hot playmaker Lewis Holtby, who replaced the 19-year-old as a second half substitute. In 26 minutes, the Schalke loanee recorded a brace as Mainz earned a 2-0 victory over Koeln.
Their victory in midweek extended Mainz’s record to a perfect 15 points from five games, and put the Oh-Fives five points clear of Hoffenheim, who lost to Bayern. The next day, Dortmund narrowed the gap, but the leaders remain a full three points clear of their Ruhr rivals.
Reflecting upon their win in Koeln, Schuerrle was ecstatic.
“This is unbelievable,” he told reporters. “We applied pressure for 90 minutes, and it was only a matter of time before we scored a goal.”
Guided by the experience of veterans and fuelled by the spark of youth, Mainz have exceeded all expectations. Even when down 3-0 away to Wolfsburg, they battled back to earn an improbable victory. Bayern will be a whole new challenge, but Saturday’s match is likely to bring the best out of Thomas Tuchel’s high-flying side, who really have little to fear. Having broken down a notoriously well organised Koeln defence, Mainz have already done something that Bayern failed to do.
TEAM NEWS
Bayern Munich
Louis van Gaal has some difficult decisions to make heading into this weekend’s match. Danijel Pranjic is likely to take Diego Contento’s spot on the left of defence, but the over-riding question is tactical; the coach could either adopt a 4-4-2 system or stick with the 4-2-3-1 that has recently struggled to produce goals. The latter with Hamit Altintop replacing injured winger Franck Ribery is more likely, but don’t be surprised to see a tactical change at half-time if Bayern struggle going forward.
Long-term absentee Arjen Robben is sure to miss out on the action, as is Franck Ribery, following his ankle injury in midweek. Otherwise, Van Gaal has a full squad to choose from.
Probable Starting XI: Butt - Lahm, Van Buyten, Badstuber, Pranjic - Van Bommel, Schweinsteiger - Mueller, Kroos, Altintop - Klose
Mainz
Mainz are expected to line up in a 4-3-2-1 set-up, with Lewis Holtby and Marcel Risse supporting lone striker Adam Szalai. Should coach Thomas Tuchel decide to adopt such a system, Andre Schuerrle will have to miss out on a starting role, though the 19-year-old will likely make a substitute appearance. Tuchel has a near full squad available, with only goalkeeper Heinz Mueller ruled out of contention to play.
Probable Starting XI: Wetklo - Zabavnik, Svensson, Noveski, Fuchs - Polanski Karhan, Soto - Risse, Holtby - Szalai
Prediction
Given their quality and the fact that they will play at home, Bayern will retain the vast majority of possession. Barring an early goal from either side, expect the match to be rather closed, with Mainz looking to score on the counterattack, and Bayern hoping to wear their opponents down and induce defeat by (nearly) a thousand passes. Form on the day will be decisive, though a low-scoring draw might be the most likely outcome.
Bayern Munich 1-1 Mainz 
