Bundesliga – Match Preview: Bayern Munich versus FSV Mainz 05
The German champions, Bayern Munich take on Mainz in what will be their sixth league match of the season. Munich have had a disappointing start to the season by their standards, last season in the 2009-2010 club football campaign, Munich ended up as double
winners under Van Gaal as they won the Bundesliga Liga title as well as the DFB Cup. It was a massive achievement by the German giants as they were being touted as one of the declining forces in club football.
In the summer transfer window of 2010, Bayern did not do much business as their main focus was shifted towards keeping hold of their star players. Many of Bayern’s star players impressed for Germany in the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It might be
taken as a sign of things to come as Germany with the likes of Thomas Mueller, Schweinsteiger and Klose made it to the semi-finals of the competitions.
Klose, Mueller and Schweinsteiger all play for Bayern Munich, in fact Bastian Schweinsteiger along with Phillip Lahm was Germany’s best player at the World Cup as well as Bayern’s best player in last year’s league campaign. In the 2009-2010 season, UEFA
Champions League saw the Bavarian giants make it till the final but in the pen-ultimate match of the competition, Bayern Munich ended up as second best to the Italian champions, Inter Milan. Nonetheless it was a very fruitful adventure for Munich, who proved
their critics wrong under the leadership of Louis Van Gaal.
This season’s start has been quite distressful for Munich, who won their first league match of the season against Wolfsburg. The victory however was not an easy one as Bastian Schweinsteiger scored the winner for Bayern Munich in the dying stages of the
match, in the added on-injury time. A 2-1 victory against Wolfsburg gave Munich the confidence to proceed to their next match in the Bundesliga season against Kaiserslautern but it was a case of “over confidence” as the minnows brought Munich back down to
earth with a two goals to nil defeat.
In their third match of the season, Bayern faced Werder Bremen in an uneventful encounter which ended up as a draw. Fourth match saw Munich taking on the defensive resilience of F.C Koln. Bayern again ended up with a disappointing goalless draw at the Allianz
Arena against Koln side that they were expected to beat. In their latest match of the Bundesliga season, Bayern defeated Hoffenheim by two goals to one in an exciting encounter. As Bayern prepare to play Mainz, they have one confirmed absentee for the match
i.e. Arjen Robben. The Dutch winger is out for an extended period of time due to a thigh injury that he sustained while he was on international duty for Netherlands at the 2010 World Cup in the summer.
Many experts have pointed towards their players fatigue levels who have been constantly playing football since August, 2009 without a break. In the summer most of Bayern Munich’s players were involved in the World Cup, therefore they are bound to be less
fresh and fitter than their opponents who got their due rest in the summer break. Conversely, Mainz are currently first in the Bundesliga season as they have won all of their five league matches in the 2010-2011 season. With fifteen points from five games
and a goal difference of positive eight, Mainz are presently the team to beat in the Bundesliga.
In their last league match, Mainz comprehensively disposed of F.C Koln by scoring two goals without conceding a reply. As Mainz travel to the Allianz Arena to face the German champions, they are expected to do well and given the amount of confidence that
they are carrying into this game, it is anticipated that they will come out with a draw against a Bayern side who have been dire in their start to the Bundesliga season.
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