Bayern Munich eased their way past FSV Mainz at the Opel Arena as Thiago Alcântara hammered the ball home to make it 1-2 in the 62nd minute. The match would’ve ended with a goal difference of two if the referee hadn’t disallowed the Spaniard’s first goal. With two consecutive victories in the Bundesliga, the reigning champions are now second in the league table with 19 points, just two less than Borussia Dortmund. Niko Kovač made only three changes to the line-up at first, with Thomas Müller, Leon Goretzka and David Alaba finding a spot in the starting XI. Later, a few minutes before the game, Mats Hummels was replaced by Jerome Boateng as the former injured himself during the warm-up. The choice of players wasn’t so bad since the visitors were able to take home 3 points: I wasn’t nervous after the equaliser, but I was annoyed we didn’t put into practice what we had discussed at half-time. We were asleep during a cross and got ourselves into trouble. But I’m pleased the team created chances and scored the match-winner. Thomas Müller has been the scapegoat of everyone’s criticism for a while. Nobody thought that including him in the starting XI was a good idea before the kick-off. But it is safe to say that he didn’t disappoint anyone. He said that the team obviously wanted to have a bigger goal difference but emphasised the fact that Bayern is in no position to complain about anything currently: Mainz often make life difficult for you at home, you saw that today. We still had considerably more chances. We can live with the result. It’s not as if league matches were walkovers for us at the moment. But we were dominant and should have extended the lead in the first half. After the break we were asleep during a throw-in but we bounced back well. We wanted to win here by more than just one goal, but we’re not in a position to complain about victories at the moment. Joshua Kimmich, along with Thiago, has been performing really well for the past few matches. Although, the 23-year old didn’t seem to be very much excited about the victory. He is not ready to settle for less and it is exactly the reason why Kimmich is what the team needs now and in the future: You notice that things still aren’t coming to us easily. We can definitely step our game up a level. Bayern lost their momentum in the second half, rewarding the hosts a fair share of opportunities to turn the game around. Sandro Schwarz thinks that it was unfortunate for them to concede the second goal and that the match could’ve been drawn: For the first 20 minutes, we were well in the game and could exploit transition moments. After that we were too passive. We had to withstand some things; the 1-0 for Bayern came consequently. After the equalizer, we were totally in the game again, but then we unfortunately conceded the second goal against. We invested a lot, but unfortunately didn’t come away with a draw. Mainz played a relatively better game in the second half and they were looking for a draw after Bayern took the lead around the hour mark. Danny Latza said that a team can’t expect anything in a match against the Bavarians: We wanted to defend well and did so for long spells. But we have to accept the defeat. We started well after the half-time and scored the equaliser, which motivated us even more after Bayern’s second goal. Of course it would have been good to take something away today, but you can’t expect it in a match against Bayern. +3 but still a lot of work to do to get where we want to be! @FCBayern pic.twitter.com/6mZl0Rc4BH — Jerome Boateng (@JB17Official) October 28, 2018 Bayern will face SV Rödinghausen in the second round of DFB Pokal on 31st of October. Their next Bundesliga fixture is against SC Freiburg on 3rd November at the Allianz Arena.<doc-sep>The biggest match of the weekend is almost here. Yes, Mainz vs Bayern Munich is going to rock the football world. What, El Clasico happens the very next day? It doesn’t matter. Who’s going to watch Real Madrid vs Barcelona when you can watch one of the classic fixtures of the Bundesliga calendar? I mean, what’s the point of a Clasico without Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo anyway? Watching Mainz-FCB will be a more satisfying experience, I guarantee it. Team News First, let’s cover injuries and suspensions. Kinglsey Coman is still working on a comeback from his ankle injury, and won’t be available until mid-November at the earliest. Corentin Tolisso tore his ACL and is probably out for the season. Franck Ribery will return to the squad after having recovered from his vertebral blockage, while Arjen Robben is suspended for the red card he received against Wolfsburg. Niko Kovac once again faces the age-old question — “to rotate, or not to rotate?” James Rodriguez has now played five games in a row without rest, but he was subbed off at the hour mark against AEK Athens so he may be ready to go another round. Thomas Müller and Jerome Boateng, both of whom have been benched these past two games, are due for a start, but it’s not known whether Kovac will give it to them. In his press conference, the coach noted that there was nothing wrong with the two players, and that everyone would get their chances in the upcoming games. Does that mean they’ll play against Mainz? We don’t know. Anyway, here are our predicted lineups for Mainz vs Bayern Munich: Ineednoname TomAdams71 Novaburgher<doc-sep>MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 10: Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team`s goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Hamburger SV at Allianz Arena on March 10, 2018 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images) Mainz face Bayern Munich at Opel Arena on Saturday, Oct. 27. Here’s all the info you need to watch online. After eight games, Bayern Munich are fourth in the Bundesliga with 16 points. On Saturday, Mainz host the defending champions at Opel Arena. The Carnival club are comfortably in the middle of the table but have struggled over their last five games. Mainz have spent the past decade in the Bundesliga, floating somewhere in the middle of the table. Their best season was 2010-11 when they finished fifth but in their worst season, Mainz barely avoided relegation, finishing 15th two seasons ago. This season, the 05ers are 12th with nine points in eight games. However, Mainz have picked up only two points over their last five games, despite not scoring a goal. The Carnival club have scored only four goals this season, with Anthony Ujah scoring half of his club’s total. While the 05ers struggle to score goals, they have been one of the better teams in their own half. The Carnival club have allowed only eight goals this season and half of those goals were scored in Mainz last game, a 4-0 loss against Borussia Monchengladbach. Bayern Munich ended their poor run by beating Wolfsburg 3-1 last weekend and going to Athens and beating AEK 2-0 in Champions League. The back to back wins will take some pressure off of manager Niko Kovac, who was dealing with backlash after going four games without winning. Robert Lewandowski scored against AEK on Tuesday, giving the Polish striker 11 goals in 12 games this season. Lewandowski has an incredible goalscoring record against Mainz. Over his last six games, Lewandowski has scored three braces and in 15 career games, Lewandowski has scored 13 goals. The Bundesliga match between Mainz and Bayern Munich will be broadcast on FS2. Live streaming is available on Fox Sports Go, which you can access with your cable or satellite subscription, either online or through their app. Date: Saturday, Oct. 27 Start Time: 9:30 a.m. ET Location: Mainz, Germany Stadium: Opel Arena TV info: FS2 Live Stream: Fox Sports Go | Fubo.TV. Sign up for a free seven-day trial here. Bayern won both games against Mainz last season, 4-0 and 2-0. The 05ers last win came in Munich on March 2, 2016.<doc-sep>
Bayern Munich weren’t totally impressive in their 2-1 win over Mainz, but Niko Kovac and Co. will surely be glad to secure another three points. Manager grade Niko Kovac — B The Croatian didn’t rotate his side as heavily as in recent weeks, keeping many of Bayern’s star players in the starting lineup. His subs made sense and proved effective — particularly Renato Sanches. Though his side didn’t win big, Kovac will no doubt be thankful for a third consecutive win to help alleviate some pressure. But Bayern Munich will have to do much better if they want the media to really get off their back. Player grades GK, Manuel Neuer — C+ Manuel Neuer made one significant contribution early in the match, rushing out of his box to make a perfectly timed tackle when a Mainz attacker was through on goal. Other than that, the Bayern number one had little to do between the sticks. DEF, David Alaba — C+ Not much to write about the Austrian, who was defensively sound. He should have done better with the few shooting opportunities that came his way, which were shockingly poor given his track record. DEF, Jerome Boateng — B Boateng replaced Mats Hummels (who picked up an injury in pre-match training) in the starting lineup just before the match began and proved to Niko Kovac why he should be given more playing time with a fine performance in central defense. DEF, Niklas Sule — B- Sure, his defensive work was good, but the real highlight of Sule’s match came when the German giant sprinted the full-length of the pitch and nearly put the nail in the coffin for Bayern. Though he just couldn’t finish, it’s a real testament to Sule’s pace and fitness that he out-sprinted every Mainz player with the ball at his feet in the 80th minute. Good stuff. DEF, Joshua Kimmich — B This match showed everything that is good about Kimmich playing right-back, but it also demonstrated the one flaw in his game. He was a massive threat going forward, assisting Leon Goretzka’s opener not long after his own, powerful shot ricocheted off the crossbar. His defensive work, however, certainly left much to be desired, as it was his man who stole a goal for Mainz shortly after half-time.