Completing their schedule for 2023, Bayern Munich visit mid-table Wolfsburg on Wednesday evening, just before the Bundesliga breaks for the festive period.

While the champions cannot catch leaders Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the standings, they will aim to sign off with a third win on the spin; meanwhile, their hosts have just ended a worrying run of defeats.

Match preview

In their final home fixture of the calendar year, Bayern Munich bounced back from a humbling defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt last time out in the league, comfortably beating a Stuttgart side that had been just one point behind them before kickoff.

Star striker Harry Kane took his tally to 20 goals this season as Bayern swept to victory on Sunday evening, securing second spot at the mid-season break by moving three points clear of RB Leipzig with a vastly superior goal difference.

Scoring for a 64th Bundesliga home game in a row equalled a longstanding record set by the Bavarian giants themselves in the 1970s, but Bayer Leverkusen still took their crown as 'winter champions' by also winning 3-0 at the weekend.

Nonetheless, Thomas Tuchel's team have apparently recovered from their shock 5-1 thumping in Frankfurt, having followed up a 1-0 success at Old Trafford by defeating dark horses Stuttgart.

Bayern had already made it through to the Champions League's last 16 before ending Manchester United's European campaign, and after topping their group by some distance they have now been drawn against Lazio in the first knockout round.

Before resuming their quest for continental glory in February, Die Roten must try to haul in Leverkusen, so winning in Wolfsburg will be their sole target on Wednesday.

Having beaten Bayern Munich just four times throughout their Bundesliga history, Wolfsburg's last league win against the perennial German champions came back in January 2015. Since then, the Wolves have lost 14 times and managed only two draws.

Former Bayern boss Nico Kovac - who oversaw 65 matches at the Allianz Arena and won the league, DFB-Pokal and Supercup before being dismissed - therefore welcomes his old side to the Volkswagen Arena with history stacked against his current club.

Wolfsburg ended a six-game losing streak away from home by beating rock-bottom Darmstadt 1-0 on Saturday, despite going down to 10 men shortly before the half-hour mark when Maxence Lacroix was sent off.

Lovro Majer struck the Wolves' winner in the 63rd minute, and the Croatian's goal also stopped a three-match streak of defeats in all competitions - previously, they were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal by Borussia Monchengladbach before losing at home to fellow top-six hopefuls Freiburg.

All told, six losses from their last nine outings has left Kovac and company stranded in mid-table and already out of the cup - beating Bayern, though, would at least end the year on a high.

Team News

Due to a slew of absences, Bayern Munich named only six players on the bench at the weekend, but midfield duo Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich should now return to the visitors' squad following illness.

England's all-time top scorer Harry Kane overcame flu symptoms to play against Stuttgart and wrote himself another page in history: he has taken the fewest appearances ever (14) to reach 20 Bundesliga goals.

His supply line, however, will once more be affected by Kingsley Coman (calf) and Serge Gnabry (thigh) being ruled out by injury, while Noussair Mazraoui (calf) and Bouna Sarr (knee) are also unavailable.

With fully fit players relatively thin on the ground, Thomas Tuchel may turn to teenage midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic, who was selected on Sunday and has recorded two assists from as many Bundesliga starts.

Meanwhile, Wolfsburg captain Max Arnold is back in the fold following suspension; his return is particularly timely as Mattias Svanberg is struggling to overcome a minor injury.

Niko Kovac will certainly have to switch things up in defence, with Maxence Lacroix now serving a ban for being dismissed against Darmstadt - Swiss centre-back Cedric Zesiger is likely to deputise.

Lukas Nmecha (knee), Patrick Wimmer (ankle) and Rogerio (calf) will all sit out Bayern's visit too.

Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Bornauw, Jenz, Zesiger; Baku, Gerhardt, Arnold, Vranckx, Maehle; Majer; Wind

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Laimer, Kim, Upamecano, Davies; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Musiala, Muller, Sane; Kane

We say: Wolfsburg 0-2 Bayern Munich

With just two goals from four December fixtures so far - and a terrible record versus Bayern in the Bundesliga - Wolfsburg are set to end 2023 on a down note. The German champions may be short of their brilliant best right now, but they clearly possess sufficient firepower to take care of business at the Volkswagen Arena.


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