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Bayern out for revenge in derby against Ingolstadt

Bundesliga leaders were shocked 3-1 by Gladbach in their previous outing .

Afp December 11, 2015

Bayern will be looking to exorcise their Gladbach defeat which was just their second loss of the season, following a Champions League defeat at Arsenal. PHOTO: AFP

DORTMUND: Bayern Munich host Ingolstadt in the first Bundesliga derby between the clubs on Saturday full of respect for their Bavarian neighbours, but determined to bounce back from their shock defeat at Moenchengladbach.

Pep Guardiola’s Bayern crashed to their first German league defeat of the season last Saturday when they were humbled 3-1 by third-placed Gladbach.

It was only Bayern’s second loss of the season, following a Champions League defeat at Arsenal, and Bayern are determined to protect their five point lead in the table.

“We have to play well and fight for everything, it won’t be an easy game,” said Robert Lewandowski, whose goals sealed a 2-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday with Bayern in the last 16 in Europe.

“We have to keep our concentration and score the first goal, which should lay the foundations for us to have some fun.”

Ingolstadt deserve Bayern’s respect with a symmetrical record of five wins, five draws and five defeats in their first season in Germany’s top-flight and are 11th in the table with 20 points.

Coach Ralph Hasenhuettl has kept most of the side which won last season’s second-division title and they have drawn with top side Wolfsburg, Schalke and Moenchengladbach so far.

“They deserve to be where they are in the league and I hope they stay up,” said Bayern captain Philipp Lahm, who played alongside Hasenhuettl in the Bavarian youth football. “They don’t just play defensively and don’t just stand at the back.”

Between them Poland’s Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller have scored 27 league goals so far this season, but the Germany forward expects a tussle. “We have a task on Saturday which will clearly be a difficult thing,” said Mueller.

Fresh from their Champions League exits in midweek, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Moenchengladbach meet at the BayArena and fifth-placed Wolfsburg host Hamburg looking to build on their midweek success after crashing to a 2-1 defeat to Dortmund at the Volkswagen Arena last Saturday.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2015.

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