Bundesliga: Bayern look to extend their lead as Dortmund play catch up

(Football news) Bayern face a tough away test against Freiburg as they look to extend their lead and win their record 10th consecutive Bundesliga crown. The two teams with the best defensive records this season will lock horns as Bayern have conceded only 28 goals so far, on the other hand Freiburg have let in 29 and both sides have also kept an equal number of clean sheets in the league with nine. Freiburg's hopes of making their first-ever Champions League appearance are still alive, despite playing out a goalless draw with bottom club Furth.

A comfortable 4-0 success against Union Berlin was their 20th league victory of the season as star striker Robert Lewandowski netted a brace in that game to take his Bundesliga tally to 31 goals from just 27 matches. While Bayern will have one eye on next week's Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash against Villarreal, they will have to now turn their attention to Freiburg, a side against whom they have an impressive goalscoring record, as they have scored in each of their previous 17 meetings, scoring at least twice in the last 12 matches.

For Bayern Munich, Niklas Sule (hamstring) and Alphonso Davies (heart condition) have both returned to light training but won’t be ready for Freiburg. Leon Goretzka (knee) and Benjamin Pavard (COVID-19) have also and will be assessed ahead of kickoff to see if they are fit to play. For Freiburg, Nicolas Hofler, Philipp Lienhart and Jeong Woo-yeong are all doubtful after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.

Dortmund take on high flying RB Leipzig knowing that anything less than a victory would mean that their title challenge will be all but over. BVB have won four of their last five league games on home soil and scored 17 goals in the process, while Leipzig are on a golden run, having won each of their last three away matches in the league and also finding the net 13 times during this run. Dortmund have recently lacked a clinical edge in front of the goal as they have scored only four goals in as many matches and only managed to get narrow 1-0 victories. To put matters into context, the last time that BVB failed to score more than once in four successive league fixtures was back in 2014

The return of star striker Erling Braut Haaland to full fitness should act as a massive boost because he will provide Marco Rose's men with a much-needed attacking threat in the final third. The Norway international has scored more goals for Dortmund against RB Leipzig (six) across all competitions than against any other team, in the last three matches against Leipzig, he has scored a brace. Last week's point against Freiburg helped Domenico Tedesco's side extend their unbeaten run across all competitions to nine matches and has also kept them in the hunt for the last Champions league spot as Frieburg are ahead just on goal difference.

Leipzig's impressive form has seen them get 23 league points since the turn of the year, more than any other team in the Bundesliga this season. They were seemingly at risk of failing to qualify for Europe after their rocky start to the season, but since the arrival of Tedesco, they are now in a strong position to finish in the top 4. For Dortmund, Thomas Meunier (hamstring), Felix Passlack (muscle) and Mateu Morey (ACL) are all ruled out with injuries. Nico Schulz (muscle), Youssoufa Moukoko (hamstring), Steffen Tigges (ankle) and Marcel Schmelzer (ACL) are also sidelined due to injury, though Mahmoud Dahoud is available. For Leipzig, they will be without forward Yussuf Poulsen, who is suffering with a groin injury, while defender Lukas Klostermann (muscle) and backup goalkeeper Philipp Tschauner (illness) are also sidelined.

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