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Bundesliga became the first major football league to resume action in the 2019-20 season. Last week's action marked a much-needed return following a two-month hiatus imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Though a lot has changed in and around the stadium, the result remained the same for league leaders Bayern Munich on the pitch. Hansi Flick's side recorded a 2-0 away win over Union Berlin.
Top scorer Robert Lewandowski scored his 26th goal of the campaign before Benjamin Pavard scored the 50th Bayern goal under Flick in the league - the best record of any coach in the league's history after 16 games.
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In this weekend's fixture, the Bavarians host another mid-table side in Eintracht Frankfurt. They were condemned to their fourth Bundesliga loss in a row after going down 3-1 to Borussia Monchengladbach in their first game in two months.
Bayern Munich are the outright favourites in the fixture, especially with the match taking place at the Allianz Arena and Die Adler's poor away record this season. So here's what to expect from the first home game for the league leaders at the empty Allianz Arena.
Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt Head-to-Head
The last two meetings between these sides have both coincidentally ended 5-1, with both of the sides recording impressive victories on their home turf.
Surprisingly, in their previous meeting this season, it was Frankfurt who humbled the mighty Bavarians at the Commerzbank-Arena back in November. This also proved to be the last game in-charge for previous manager Niko Kovac.
There have been a total of 111 fixtures between the two sides and as expected, the Bavarians have been the more dominant side. Bayern have 59 wins and 23 draws in the top-flight, while Die Adler have come out on top on just 29 occasions.
Bayern Munich have won each of their last 10 Bundesliga home games against Frankfurt – their longest winning run at home to any current top-flight side. On the other hand, the visitors are the weakest team away from home in the Bundesliga this season, picking up just seven points.
Bayern Munich form guide: W-W-W-W-W
Eintracht Frankfurt form guide: L-L-L-L-W
Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt Team News
Flick might be forced to use the same lineup as last weekend as the sidelined players are still a few weeks away from match fitness. He will be without the services of midfielders Phillippe Coutinho and Corentin Tolisso, as the duo continues to recover from ankle injuries post surgeries.
The centre-half duo of Niklas Sule and Javier Martinez took part in training but will have to face a final fitness test to prove their readiness to join the starting lineup. There's a possibility they might sit this one out.
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer signed a contract extension with the club till 2023, which reflects the club's faith in the now 34-year-old keeper.
Injuries: Philippe Coutinho (ankle), Corentin Tolisso (ankle)
Doubtful: Javier Martinez (match fitness), Niklas Süle (match fitness), Thiago Alcantara (groin)
Suspension: None
Adi Hutter faces a tough task of stopping the Bayern Munich juggernaut with a defence that has conceded 13 goals in their last four Bundesliga matches. His attackers have scored only two goals in the period.
They will be without joint-top scorer Gonçalo Paciência, who picked up a thigh strain, while Dominik Kohr is suspended. It is expected that Portuguese striker Andre Silva will start at the expense of Bas Dost, after scoring their only goal coming off the bench in the previous fixture.
Injuries: Paciencia (thigh)
Doubtful: Torro (knock)
Suspension: Dominik Kohr
Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt Predicted XI
Bayern Munich Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Manuel Neuer; Benjamin Pavard, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, Alphonso Davies; Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka; Serge Gnabry, Thomas Müller, Kingsley Coman; Robert Lewandowski
Eintracht Frankfurt Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Kevin Trapp - Almamy Toure, David Abraham, Martin Hinteregger, Evan N'Dicka; Stefan Ilsanker, Sebastian Rode; Timothy Chandler, Daichi Kamada, Filip Kostic; Andre Silva
Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt Prediction
Bayern Munich will be out for revenge for the 5-1 thumping by Frankfurt earlier this season when they return to their fortress this weekend. In that fixture, which took place in November, Bayern played the majority of the game with 10 men after an early red card for Jerome Boateng.
Lewandowski scored his 26th goal of the season to mark the return of Bundesliga. It is expected that the player with the most goals across all competitions across Europe this season will not find it hard to net a goal or two against Eintracht.
Bayern Munich have won their last five games on the spin, while their opponents have lost their last four. So, the reigning champions have got the perfect opportunity to return to the Allianz Arena with a spectacular victory in what is looking like a potential one-sided affair for the Bavarians.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 4-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
