Bayern up against Schalke

If you look at the table, Bayern's eight point lead over Wolfsburg looks more than comfortable. But still, things aren't quite what they used to be at Bayern, since the team's loss last Friday to Wolfsburg.

Bayern's 4-1 meltdown against the Wolves surprised many German football fans. It's not just the scoreline, but also the way that Bayern lost which has turned some heads. With uncharacteristically weak passing and some strange defending, last year's champions gave Wolfsburg lots of chances. In midfield, the teamwork between Xabi Alonso and Bastian Schweinsteiger often didn't work. Schweinsteiger barely managed anything in attack, and Alonso struggled to back-track fast enough.

"It was a collective fail," said Bayern's honorary president Franz Beckenbauer to German broadcaster Sky. "That won't happen again, we won't be that bad again."

Bayern's attacking ace Arjen Robben was slightly more circumspect. "That was a wake-up call," the Dutchman said. "Perhaps it's not a bad thing for the future. On Tuesday we have to fight back."

Who will play for Huntelaar?

Schalke are now due to head to Munich's Allianz Arena, as Bayern's next opponent. The Royal Blues started the second half of their season with a 1-0 win at home against Hannover but Bayern rarely lose two games in a row. In the past, the team that took on Germany's record-breaking club after a heavy loss, normally copped a real drubbing.

Add to that, Schalke doesn't have a great record in Munich, and things don't look too good for Roberto Di Matteo's team. Schalke have lost their last four games in the Bavarian capital and have only scored two goals in the process. They did, however, manage a 1-1 draw against Bayern earlier in the season at home.

For the match against Bayern, Schalke will be without their top striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who was sent off in the team's last match against Hannover for a late tackle on Manuel Schmiedebach. He has now been banned for six games, although Schalke have said they will challenge the decision.

Roberto Di Matteo now has to decide who to select in Huntelaar's place. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has just returned from Africa Cup and didn't look particularly fresh against Hannover. Sidney Sam is more of a winger and seems out of form, Leroy Sane is still very inexperienced. Kevin-Prince Boateng may well be Di Matteo's first choice.

Is Wolfsburg the new Dortmund?

While Schalke and Bayern slug it out, Wolfsburg will continue on their quest to chase down the league leaders. The Wolves are also playing on Tuesday evening, versus Eintracht Frankfurt in Frankfurt. Whether they are with or without Andre Schürrle on the pitch, it's a good chance for the team from Lower Saxony to exert a bit more pressure at the top of the table. After all, Dortmund are now well out of range.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Hannover play Mainz while Borussia Mönchengladbach take on Freiburg. On Wednesday, a host of bottom of the table Bundesliga clashes will be taking place. Cologne versus Stuttgart and Paderborn versus Hamburg sees four teams match up who all desperately need points to start moving away from the relegation zone.

In the other three games (Hertha Berlin versus Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund versus Augsburg and Hoffenheim versus Bremen) three lower-placed teams take on top of the table clubs.