Thielmann, Jan
Musiala, Jamal
Bayern Munich likely need a win at the Rhein Energie Stadion on Saturday against Cologne to have any chance of snatching the Bundesliga title away from Dortmund on the final day of the season.
The visitors' 3-1 home defeat against Leipzig last weekend could prove damning and looks likely to derail their ambitions of winning an 11th consecutive German top flight title. That result enabled rivals Dortmund to leapfrog them onto the top of the table with a 3-0 win away at Augsburg.
Now the title is no longer in Bavarian hands. They have to beat Cologne and hope Dortmund fail to win their game against Mainz. Were Dortmund to draw, a Bayern win would be enough for Thomas Tuchel's side to retain their title. However, if Dortmund win, it's game over for Bayern no matter what they do.
Permutations aside, Bayern need to take care of their own business first. To do so they will need to beat a Cologne team in very respectable form. Steffen Baumgart's men have lost just once in eight, winning four and drawing three. While unremarkable compared to their illustrious opponents, Cologne's first strength starting 11 stands a chance of playing party spoiler this weekend.
Since Tuchel arrived, Bayern have been far from perfect, which is how they have ended up in the position they are, on the brink of winning zero trophies this season. The former Chelsea boss has watched his team slump out of the Champons League at the quarter final stage, admittedly against the favourites to win the tournament Manchester City, give up a healthy lead in the Bundesliga to Dortmund, and crash out of the Pokal in the quarter finals to Freiburg.
His reign started so brightly with a 4-2 win over Dortmund, which looked to be the final blow to BVB's hopes of winning the title, but since then it's been an unmitigated disaster which has surely left the higher-ups at the Allianz Arena questioning their decision to fire Julian Nagelsmann in favour of the former Dortmund boss Tuchel.
That win seemed to usher in a great new era for Bayern but was followed up a run of just four wins in ten matches in all competitions, including defeats against Hertha Berlin, Mainz and now Leipzig.
Bayern fans will struggle to believe that they are in this posiiton, but they are. Tuchel must now motivate his troops to pick up a necessary win against a more than capable Cologne side, and pray that another one of Tuchel's former clubs, Mainz, can do them a favour and hold Dortmund to a draw.
The good news on that front is that Bayern have won 12 of the last 14 Bundesliga meetings between these two sides, with Cologne only managing to avoid defeat twice in 8 years. Both of those games ended in a 1-1 draw, once in 2016 and once earlier this year.
Historically Cologne have struggled in this fixture, as most of Bayern's Bundesliga opponents tend to do, but they will be bouyed by the result they picked up away at the Allianz earlier in the season.
However, the hosts have absolutely nothing to play for, with both European qualification and relegation out of the question.
Cologne may or may not be without their third-highest scorer Steffen Tigges, who has scored 6 goals in 17 appearances this season. The striker is a doubt with a shoulder problem.
Fellow strikers Mark Uth and Florian Dietz will miss the final game of the season.
Bayern have selection issues of their own as they continue to work around the long-term absences of iconic goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and French international Lucas Hernandez, both of whom will continue rehabing their respective leg injuries well into the summer.
Meanwhile, striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting could potentially return to the starting lineup as he faces a late fitness test on a knee problem.
Left back Alphonso Davies has been ruled out for the season since he suffered a torn muscle back in April.
Fans in the UK can follow all the action on live TV on Sky Sports Arena or via live streaming on Sky Stream.
Expert Insight: With Cologne well are truly in vacation mode, Bayern will be heavy favourites to pick up the win here and in grand fashion. Expect the visitors to put three or four past their opponents and do their part. Whether or not it will be enough to bring them another title will depend on what happens at the Signal Iduna.
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