Bayern Munich travel to Darmstadt in the Bundesliga looking to keep their faint title hopes alive with a victory.
Date: 16/03/24
Kick-off time: 14:30
Venue: Stadion am Böllenfalltor
With nine games remaining, Bayern Munich trail leaders Bayer Leverkusen by 10 points, leaving their title chances hanging by a thread. The table toppers have yet to lose a game this season, and this does not look like changing anytime soon, meaning Thomas Tuchel’s men may have to settle for second place for the first time since 2012.
However, if they were to get three points this weekend, they can take advantage of any potential slip-ups by Leverkusen. They should enjoy plenty of success as they take on the league’s bottom side Darmstadt. The club lie in 18th position, they have held for the majority of the season. Their relegation has been all but confirmed, as they are 12 points from safety. They have won just twice all season, and have not done so since mid-October. In their last two games they have conceded eight goals whilst scoring zero, and this weak backline will open up plenty of opportunities for the likes of Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala in the Bayern attack.
Kane’s 30 goals leads the division by a distance, and he will be hoping to add to this incredible figure. He will be fresh from scoring a hat-trick in the team’s 8-1 win last week against Mainz, and Darmstadt will be concerned that they could fall to a similar defeat.
As expected, Bayern have been dominant in the head-to-head matchups between the two teams, as they have won six in a row. The most recent was the reverse fixture earlier this season in which they crushed the strugglers 8-0 at home. The hosts lost Joshua Kimmich to a red card very early on, but Darmstadt were then reduced to nine men. Bayern made the extra man count, scoring eight second-half goals. Kane grabbed a hat-trick, whilst Musiala and Leroy Sane bagged a brace each. Thomas Muller also found the back of the net.