Bundesliga: Dortmund face a tough test away to Hoffenhiem as Bayern take on Hertha

(Football news) Dortmund travel away to Hoffenheim in a bid to close the gap to the top of the table. Both will be looking to bounce back from poor exits from the DFB-Pokal in midweek, in an encounter that promises to be thoroughly entertaining for the neutral. Dortmund will particularly look to bounce back from the humiliating 2-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of Bundesliga 2 opponents St Pauli. Haaland and Thomas Meunier each netted braces last week, as it was devastatingly-clinical display from Dortmund, and Rose will be hoping that the same form continues in the league as his side look to cut Bayern's lead to just three points ahead of their trip to Hertha Berlin on Sunday

For Hoffenhiem Robert Skov, Ermin Bicakcic, Mijat Gacinovic and Pavel Kaderabek are all sidelined through various injuries and Marco John and Florian Grillitsch are out through covid. For Dortmund Emre Can and Dahoud are likely to sit out once more due to groin and back injuries as Marcel Schmelzer and Mateu Morey and Giovanni Reyna are also out.

Bayern face Hertha Berlin in order to keep their six point lead from Dortmund. Bayern's early elimination from the DFB Cup meant they had a rare rest this midweek, although they were still making the headlines with Lewandowski picking up his prize as the Best FIFA Men's Player. His latest hat-trick earned them a 4-0 win at Cologne last weekend and underlined why he remains the best footballer on the planet, and he has already set out breaking more records with 23 Bundesliga goals to his name this season already, and 300 at German football's top table. Bayern will most likely revert to Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and the league's perennial top assist provider Thomas Müller. Bayern will look to continue their streak of scoring once in 66 straight Bundesliga matches.

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For Bayern, Choupo-Moting is out due to his Africa Cup of Nations duties, Davies can be a long term absentee with a mild heart problem as there are doubts over the availability of midfielder Leon Goretzka and Croatian right-back Josip Stanisic.

The other fixtures are: