Runaway leader Bayern Munich to use Bundesliga as training ground for Real Madrid clash
BERLIN (AP) — Confident of another German title, Bayern Munich can use the Bundesliga as a tune-up for its Champions League showdown with Real Madrid. The Bavarian powerhouse is nine points clear of its closest domestic rival and has lost only once all season with eight rounds to go. Union Berlin is next to visit Munich on Saturday, then Bayern visits Freiburg a week later before the trip to Madrid for the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.
Bayern visits St. Pauli in Hamburg before entertaining Madrid for the second leg on April 15. “These are the games you look forward to,” Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl said after the team eased past Atalanta on Wednesday.
The competitive action is away from the top in the Bundesliga, where four teams are chasing the last two Champions League qualification places, and a host of teams are fighting for survival. Key matchups Hoffenheim visits Leipzig on Friday for a duel that tests their Champions League credentials. Hoffenheim is surprising many in third place (50 points), ahead of Stuttgart on goal difference, and three above Leipzig, which is vying for a top-four finish to qualify for Europe’s premier competition.
Hoffenheim has won only one of its last four games, allowing rivals to catch up, while Leipzig lost in Stuttgart last weekend. Bayer Leverkusen (45), the other team fighting for the top four, visits doomed-looking Heidenheim on Saturday. Second-place Borussia Dortmund (58) hosts promoted Hamburger SV on Saturday.
Cologne hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach for a high-stakes Rhine derby on Saturday with both teams still in danger of the drop. Cologne is on a six-game winless streak and Gladbach has two wins from its last three. Wolfsburg hosts Werder Bremen for a relegation scrap on Saturday.