Wolfsburg VS Bayern Munich
In their last home match of the calendar year, Bayern Munich rebounded from a humbling defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in their previous league outing, securing a comfortable victory over Stuttgart, who were just one point behind them before the kickoff.Star striker Harry Kane extended his season tally to 20 goals as Bayern clinched the win on Sunday evening, solidifying their hold on the second spot at the mid-season break. They moved three points clear of RB Leipzig, boasting a significantly superior goal difference.The victory marked Bayern's 64th consecutive Bundesliga home game with a goal, equaling a long-standing record set by the Bavarian giants in the 1970s. However, despite this achievement, Bayer Leverkusen claimed the title of 'winter champions' by also securing a 3-0 win over the weekend.Despite the setback in Frankfurt, Thomas Tuchel's team seems to have bounced back, following up their 1-0 success at Old Trafford with a victory over Stuttgart.Having already advanced to the Champions League's last 16 by ending Manchester United's European campaign, Bayern comfortably topped their group and are now set to face Lazio in the first knockout round.
Having secured victory against Bayern Munich only four times in their Bundesliga history, Wolfsburg's most recent league triumph over the perennial German champions occurred in January 2015. Since that noteworthy win, the Wolves have faced a challenging streak, suffering 14 defeats and managing only two draws against Bayern.Nico Kovac, the former Bayern boss who oversaw 65 matches at the Allianz Arena and achieved league, DFB-Pokal, and Supercup success before his dismissal, now faces the daunting task of hosting his former club at the Volkswagen Arena, with historical records heavily favoring Bayern.Wolfsburg put an end to a six-game losing streak away from home by securing a 1-0 victory against bottom-of-the-table Darmstadt on Saturday. Despite being reduced to 10 men shortly before the half-hour mark due to Maxence Lacroix's red card, Wolfsburg managed to clinch the crucial win.