Bayern Munich vs Fortuna Dusseldorf Preview: How To Watch, Kick Off Time, Team News & More
Bayern Munich welcome Fortuna Dusseldorf to the Allianz Arena in a Bundesliga clash on Saturday. Die Bayern will be hoping to return to winning ways following their 3-2 defeat at the hands of Dortmund last time out.
Bayern, much to their dismay, currently sit fifth in the Bundesliga after an indifferent start to the campaign under new head coach Niko Kovač.
Fortuna Dusseldorf have their own problems to deal with - only goal difference separates them and the foot of the table. After winning promotion last year they were not expected to be much further up the league, but need to start picking up points sooner rather than later in order to avoid the drop.
Check out 90min's preview for Saturday's clash below.
How to Watch
When Is Kick-Off? | Saturday 24 November |
What Time Is Kick-Off? | 14:30 (BST) |
Where Is It Played? | Allianz Arena |
TV/Live Stream? | Bet365 |
Referee? | N/A |
Team News
Bayern coach Niko Kovač has two new injury setbacks following the international break, James Rodriguez has been ruled out for 'several weeks' and will play no part in Saturday's game.
CHRISTOF STACHE/GettyImages
Very alarming news from Kovač is that star striker Robert Lewandowski is a doubt to start after returning early from international duty with a knee injury, however he did return to training on Wednesday. The German champions will certainly also be without Thiago, Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso for Saturday's fixture.
Dusseldorf are fortunate to not have the injury problems Saturday's opponents are dealing with, their only doubt being midfielder Kevin Stöger who has recently picked up a knee injury. After winning only their second match of the season last time out in a surprise 4-1 victory over Hertha Berlin, they are expected to line-up similarly - although Benito Raman will be pushing for a start after scoring twice against Berlin coming off the bench.
Predicted Lineups
Bayern Munich | Neuer; Kimmich, Süle, Hummels, Alaba; Martinez ;Gnabry, Goretzka, Müller, Robben; Lewandowski |
Fortuna Dusseldorf | Rensing; Zimmermann, Bormuth, Kaminski, Gießelmann; Zimmer, Bodzek, Stöger, Usami; Lukebakio, Hennings |
Head to Head Record
Bayern will be heading into Saturday's clash knowing that if history is anything to go by, they should have enough to see off Dusseldorf. The two sides have met 34 times with Bayern winning well over half - 19 in fact. Bayern have won the last four times they have met, including two 5-0 drubbings, the most recent being in 2013.
Dusseldorf can take solace from the fact the two sides haven't met for five years - so any recent memories have been dispelled. They have won ten of the 34 matches throughout history and will be hoping that they have caught Bayern at a good time to cause an upset.
Recent Form
As mentioned before, Bayern have had a very indifferent start to the Bundesliga. At this stage in previous campaigns they had already opened up a sizeable gap to second place, and were sitting pretty at the top of the table. However, it is clear they face a real task in retaining the championship as they sit in fifth place - seven points off Borussia Dortmund who lead the way.
Since Jupp Heynckes retirement from football at the end of last season, FC Hollywoodhave not played their usual free-flowing football. They have only won two out of their last five Bundesliga matches and having tasted defeat three times already. A staggering statistic considering they only lost four matches the whole of the previous season.
Fortuna will be buoyed by winning only their second game of the campaign last time out against Hertha Berlin in some style 4-1. Consistency has been their big problem this season as prior to that match they had lost their last three, with an aggregate score of 13-1.
Here's how each term has performed in their last five matches:
Bayern Munich | Fortuna Dusseldorf |
Dortmund 3-2 Bayern (10/11) | Dusseldorf 4-1 Hertha Berlin (10/11) |
Bayern 2-0 AEK Athens (07/11) | Monchengladbach 3-0 Dusseldorf (04/11) |
Bayern 1-1 Freiburg (03/11) | Ulm 1-5 Dusseldorf (30/10) |
SV Rodinghausen 1-2 Bayern (30/10) | Dusseldorf 0-3 Wolfsburg (27/10) |
Mainz 1-2 Bayern (27/10) | Frankfurt 7-1 Dusseldorf (19/10) |
Prediction
Despite all of Bayern's ongoing troubles, it is hard to look past them to get the victory here.
Playing at home against a newly promoted side, anything other than three points would be a major disappointment and would raise serious question marks about Niko Kovac's position in charge.
If Lewandowski is fit enough to start, the German champions should have far too much for Fortuna on Saturday.
