BERLIN (AP) — With another German title all but assured, Bayern Munich is aiming for a treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League titles while also setting some records.
Bayern beat their closest rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in the Bundesliga last weekend and can take a 14-point lead ahead of the remainder of the 25th round with a home win over Monchengladbach on Friday.
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The Bavarian giants will then face Italian side Atalanta away in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday. The return match in Munich will take place next week.
Bayern will face Bayer Leverkusen away in the German Cup semi-finals in April.
Fans dream of Bayern winning three consecutive league, cup and Champions League titles in 2013 under Jupp Heynckes.
This season under Vincent Kompany, the team has played 37 games, winning 32, losing two to Arsenal and Augsburg, and drawing three.
The strike trio of Harry Kane, Michael Ollis and Luis Dias have scored 53 goals in the Bundesliga so far and could surpass Gerd Müller, Uli Hoeness and Franz Rose (who scored 65 goals for Bayern in 1971-72) to become the most prolific trio in Bundesliga history.
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Bayern has now scored 88 goals and is on track to break the single-season scoring record of 101 goals set by Bayern in the 1971-72 season.
There are nine rounds left after this weekend.
key matchup
The race for Champions League qualification intensifies with four teams – Hoffenheim, Stuttgart, Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen – vying for the last two spots in Europe’s top competition.
Hoffenheim and Stuttgart are currently ranked third and fourth respectively with a goal difference of 46 points, followed by Leipzig with 44 points, and Leverkusen is one point behind in sixth place.
All four teams will play on Saturday, with Hoffenheim traveling to bottom side Heidenheim, Leipzig hosting Augsburg, Leverkusen traveling to Freiburg and Stuttgart traveling to Mainz.
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Relegation is also heating up after Wolfsburg fell into automatic relegation last weekend. The Volkswagen-backed club have not won any of their last seven games and host Hamburg on Saturday.
On Sunday, also struggling St. Pauli and Werder Bremen face Eintracht Frankfurt (home) and Union Berlin (away) respectively.
Players to watch
If Leipzig do secure a Champions League spot, it will likely be thanks to Jan Diomand. The Ivorian teenager has nine goals this season and scored the winner against Hamburg last weekend.
Who’s out?
Kane has scored twice or more in each of his past four Bundesliga games but is sidelined with a calf injury. This has impacted on his bid to break Robert Lewandowski’s season record of 41 goals in 2020-21. Kane has scored 30 goals in 24 games but was unable to add to his tally on Friday.
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Dortmund visit Cologne on Saturday with captain Emre Can ruled out for the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in last weekend’s loss to Bayern.
Off the field
Stadium security and the continued use of banned pyrotechnics will again be in question after Rot-Weiss Essen goalkeeper Felix Wienand was hospitalized on Wednesday after being injured when a firecracker was thrown from the stands during a third-division match against Waldhof Mannheim.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer