Preview: Wolfsburg vs. Bayern Munich - prediction, team news

Wolfsburg take on Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with the visitors looking to bounce back after a testing week, which saw them drop points at home to Union Berlin and crash out of the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain.

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, have an eight-point cushion inside the Champions League qualification positions, but are looking to avoid successive defeats after Eintracht Frankfurt overcame them last time out.

Match preview

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The Wolves were involved in one of the matches of the Bundesliga season so far last weekend, but unfortunately came out on the wrong end of a 4-3 defeat to top four rivals Frankfurt.

Ridle Baku had fired Oliver Glasner 's side into an early lead with an excellent curling strike from outside of the area, but Daichi Kamada restored parity only two minutes later with a clinical finish after Sebastian Rode had cleverly dummied over the ball to allow the Japan midfielder a clear sight of goal.

Andre Silva displayed a terrific burst of pace down the right flank before squaring the ball for his strike partner Luka Jovic to provide Frankfurt with a half-time lead, before Wout Weghorst struck for the 18th time in the league this season to level proceedings with a typically composed finish less than a minute after the break.

However, a spectacularly topsy-turvy game got away from Wolfsburg either side of the hour mark via a familiar goalscorer in Silva and a far less familiar one in Erik Durm, who capped a fine team move with his first Bundesliga goal in over five years. Tuta 's 85th-minute own goal proved nothing more than a consolation one for Glasner's side in the end, with the 46-year-old hoping his team can bounce back against a potentially fatigued and depleted Bayern on Saturday.

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Indeed, despite throwing everything into it, Bayern fell a fraction short in their attempts to overturn the 3-2 home loss to PSG in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, with their European title defence ending on away goals after a 1-0 win in Paris in the second leg on Tuesday night.

Missing the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry through injury and illness, the Bavarians looked short of attacking potency despite dominating possession across the 90 minutes. In truth, they were somewhat fortunate to stay in the tie until the very end, with Neymar guilty of missing several chances prior to Eric Choupo-Moting breaking the deadlock with a close range header after David Alaba 's strike had been parried into the forward's path.

The defeat in Paris capped a difficult week after last weekend's 1-1 draw at home to Union Berlin allowed RB Leipzig to close the gap at the top of the table to within five points. Jamal Musiala and Marius Bulter both missed presentable chances for either side in an otherwise quiet first half, before Musiala looked to have found a winner with a 68th-minute finish after fine play by Thomas Muller.

However, just as they did in the reverse fixture, Urs Fischer 's side stayed in the match and found a dramatic 85th-minute equaliser when Marcus Ingvartsen bundled the ball home from Robert Andrich 's cutback. Bayern will still be confident of securing a ninth successive Bundesliga title, but their lead could be cut to within two points if Leipzig defeat Hoffenheim as expected on Friday night, making a trip to high-flying Wolfsburg all the more difficult.

Wolfsburg Bundesliga form:

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Bayern Munich Bundesliga form:

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DBayern Munich form (all competitions):

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Team News

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Wolfsburg will be without the suspended Maximilian Arnold after the midfielder picked up his fifth booking of the season in the defeat to Frankfurt.

Joshua Guilavogui has sustained a groin injury which could keep him out until early May, leaving Glasner short of central midfield options. Yannick Gerhardt could drop into a deeper role, with Maximilian Philipp starting behind Weghorst.

Renato Steffen and Admir Mehmedi remain sidelined for at least a few more weeks with ligament and calf issues respectively.

Bayern, meanwhile, welcomed Lewandowski back to training on Monday after his recent knee injury, but the forward is unlikely to be risked for the trip to Wolfsburg, with Choupo-Moting hoping to lead the line for a fifth successive match.

Goretzka and Gnabry also remain out due to a calf injury and COVID-19 respectively, with Marc Roca, Niklas Sule, Ron-Thorben Hoffmann, Corentin Tolisso, Douglas Costa and Malik Tillman all ruled out, too.

Musiala and Javi Martinez came off the bench in midweek and provide options to start should Hansi Flick elect to rest a couple of key players during a congested schedule, with Joshua Kimmich particularly looking out of sorts in Paris.

Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:

Casteels; Mbabu, Lacroix, Brooks, Roussillon; Schlager, Gerhardt; Baku, Philipp, Brekalo; Weghorst

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:

Neuer; Pavard, Boateng, Hernandez, Davies; Martinez, Alaba; Muller, Musiala, Coman; Choupo-Moting

We say: Wolfsburg 1-1 Bayern Munich

With Bayern's confidence and energy levels likely to be low after their aggregate defeat to PSG, we expect Wolfsburg to retain their unbeaten record at home in the Bundesliga this season.

The Wolves have had a week to prepare for this game, with Weghorst licking his lips at the prospect of having space to run into behind Bayern's high line.

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