1. Bundesliga
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Played
December 11, 2011 4:30 PM GMT
Mercedes-Benz-Arena — Stuttgart
Referee:‬ M. Gräfe‎
Attendance:‬ 60469‎
 

Bundesliga Preview: Stuttgart v Bayern Munich

With Borussia Dortmund hot on the Bavarians' tails, Jupp Heynckes will be looking to pick up all three points in his side's first trip to the Mercedes-Benz Arena this season

By Stephen Crawford

More On :  FC Bayern München, VfB Stuttgart, VfB Stuttgart vs FC Bayern München
FC Bayern Munich vs. Werder Bremen, Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben
Bongarts

 PROBABLE LINEUPS

STUTTGART

Ulreich
Boka, Tasci, Maza, Molinaro
Kvist, Gentner
Harnik, Hajnal, Okazaki
Cacau
BAYERN MUNICH

Neuer
Boateng, Van Buyten, Badstuber, Lahm
Tymoshchuk, Kroos
Robben, T. Muller, Ribery
Gomez

As has been the case for the past few months, Die Schwaben will yet again be without skipper Matthieu Delpierre, as the Frenchman continues to recover from a nasty knee injury.

Fellow defenders Khalid Boularouz and Stefano Celozzi will join Delpierre on the sidelines with knocks of their own, alongside Johan Audel and goalkeeper Marc Ziegler.

Four of Bayern's players have doubts over their involvement in Sunday's game due to flu-like symptoms, including Mario Gomez, Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos and Arjen Robben. However, it is said that the first three are recovering well, meaning that the Dutchman is the biggest question mark.

Bastian Schweinsteiger is recovering well from a broken collarbone sustained at the start of November, but is not quite ready to rejoin the first team yet. The same can be said for Breno, who has yet to be given the all-clear by therapists following arson charges.


 DID YOU KNOW
  • Bayern Munich's star striker Mario Gomez transferred to the Allianz Arena from Stuttgart for a Bundesliga record fee of approximately €30-35 million.
  • The Bavarians' last two visits to the Mercedes-Benz Arena, both last season, were veritable goalfests at 6-3 and 5-3, although Bayern were victorious on both counts.
  • Stuttgart's main goalscorer, Martin Harnik, has less than half of Mario Gomez's tally (13) for the league season with six so far. So large is the gulf in goalscoring prowess between the teams this campaign that even eight-goal left-winger Franck Ribery beats the Austrian.
  • Stuttgart coach Bruno Labbadia is the only player ever to have scored more than 100 goals in both the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, some of which were scored when he was spearheading the attack for Bayern Munich between 1991-94.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • VfB Stuttgart 0-3 FC Bayern München
    19.57 %
  • VfB Stuttgart 1-3 FC Bayern München
    19.14 %
  • VfB Stuttgart 0-2 FC Bayern München
    15.11 %
Head to Head
1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Jan 27, 2013 VfB Stuttgart 0 - FC Bayern München 2
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1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Sep 2, 2012 FC Bayern München 6 - VfB Stuttgart 1
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1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Apr 28, 2012 FC Bayern München 2 - VfB Stuttgart 0
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Germany - DFB-Pokal ‎(GERC)‎ Feb 8, 2012 VfB Stuttgart 0 - FC Bayern München 2
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1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Dec 11, 2011 VfB Stuttgart 1 - FC Bayern München 2
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Last Five Matches
VfB Stuttgart
May 18, 2013VfB Stuttgart 2 - Mainz 2GER1
May 11, 2013Schalke 04 1 - VfB Stuttgart 2GER1
May 4, 2013VfB Stuttgart 0 - Greuther Fürth 2GER1
Apr 27, 2013FC Augsburg 3 - VfB Stuttgart 0GER1
Apr 21, 2013VfB Stuttgart 2 - SC Freiburg 1GER1
FC Bayern München
May 18, 2013Borussia Mönchengladbach 3 - FC Bayern München 4GER1
May 11, 2013FC Bayern München 3 - FC Augsburg 0GER1
May 4, 2013Borussia Dortmund 1 - FC Bayern München 1GER1
May 1, 2013FC Barcelona 0 - FC Bayern München 3UCL
Apr 27, 2013FC Bayern München 1 - SC Freiburg 0GER1
Odds
Returns: VfB Stuttgart £710.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Draw £210.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Bayern £15.30 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Team News
Available Squads
1Sven UlreichGoalkeeper
3Cristian MolinaroDefender
2Francisco Javier RodríguezDefender
15Arthur BokaDefender
5Serdar TasciDefender
4William Kvist JörgensenMidfielder
7Martin HarnikStriker
10Timo GebhartMidfielder
20Christian GentnerMidfielder
30Tamas HajnalMidfielder
23Julian SchieberStriker
33Andre WeisGoalkeeper
6Georg NiedermeierDefender
8Zdravko KuzmanovicMidfielder
16Ibrahima TraoreMidfielder
31Shinji OkazakiStriker
18CacauStriker
29Pavel PogrebnyakStriker
1Manuel NeuerGoalkeeper
5Daniel Van BuytenDefender
13RafinhaMidfielder
21Philipp LahmDefender
28Holger BadstuberDefender
7Franck RibéryMidfielder
10Arjen RobbenMidfielder
39Toni KroosMidfielder
44Anatoliy TymoshchukMidfielder
25Thomas MüllerStriker
33Mario GomezStriker
22Hans-Jörg ButtGoalkeeper
17Jerome BoatengDefender
26Diego ContentoDefender
23Danijel PranjicMidfielder
27D. AlabaMidfielder
30Luiz Gustavo DiasMidfielder
11Ivica OlicStriker
Players to Watch
Serdar Tasci
Serdar Tasci
Position: Defender
Squad Number: 5
Games Goals YC RC
25 0 3 1
Stuttgart have been struggling to keep a clean sheet in recent weeks and, although achieving such a feat against Bayern is unlikely, a good, solid defensive performance from Tasci and the other back three would go a long way to boosting Die Schwaben's morale.
Franck Ribéry
Franck Ribéry
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 7
Games Goals YC RC
27 10 2 0
Untouched by the flu symptoms that half his team-mates have been getting, the Frenchman has been in excellent form lately. With eight goals and the same amount of assists already this season from the left, Ribery is always a player to keep an eye on.
Probable Lineups
Sven Ulreich 1
Cristian Molinaro 3
Francisco Javier Rodríguez 2
Arthur Boka 15
Serdar Tasci 5
William Kvist Jörgensen 4
Martin Harnik 7
Timo Gebhart 10
Christian Gentner 20
Tamas Hajnal 30
Julian Schieber 23
Manuel Neuer 1
Daniel Van Buyten 5
Rafinha 13
Philipp Lahm 21
Holger Badstuber 28
Franck Ribéry 7
Arjen Robben 10
Toni Kroos 39
Anatoliy Tymoshchuk 44
Thomas Müller 25
Mario Gomez 33
Prediction
Stuttgart can make some decent progress in a bid for a European berth next term with a win over the Bavarians, so expect them to put up a fight. However, Bayern will hope to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in midweek, and will want to use this trip as a springboard to get back on track. Die Roten's class should shine through to win them this one.
Editor's Prediction
VfB Stuttgart 1
Bayern 2
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Stefan Kießling Stefan Kießling
Striker
Leverkusen 		25 4
Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski
Striker
Dortmund 		24 1
Alexander Meier Alexander Meier
Midfielder
Eintracht Frankfurt 		17 3
Vedad Ibisevic Vedad Ibisevic
Striker
VfB Stuttgart 		15 5
Mario Mandzukic Mario Mandzukic
Striker
Bayern 		15 0