Bayern eyes record with Robben return

MUNICH - Reuters

Bayern’s Arjen Robben (R) is set to return to action after a two-week layoff due to a groin injury. Coach Pep Guardiola (L) will use Robben against Augsburg.

Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben is set to stage a Bundesliga comeback against Augsburg tomorrow with the treble winner in need of his pace and trickery as it aims to crack a 30-year-old league record.

The Dutchman had been out for two weeks with a groin injury and while Bayern kept winning in Germany and Europe, it looked far less sharp doing so.

A narrow 3-2 win over Hertha Berlin was followed by a 2-1 victory at Hoffenheim last week that saw the team equal Hamburg SV’s 36-game unbeaten run but their performance was far from their best.
A struggling 1-0 win over Viktoria Plzen, which booked its spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League with two game to spare and its best ever group performance after four games, sounded alarm bells.

For any other team this would still be a perfect run but Bayern fears it could become complacent.
“We need to quickly make sure we do not oversleep in the opening stages of games as we have been doing in the last few weeks,” Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said.

Robben’s return to spice up the Bavarians’ game and expected to feature in coach Pep Guardiola’s squad, the club said.

Second-placed Borussia Dortmund will look to bounce back from a 1-0 Champions League defeat to Arsenal when it travels to Wolfsburg, who has won its last three games to climb up to fifth.
Dortmund is on 28 points from 11 games, one behind Bayern.

Bayer Leverkusen, in third spot on 25, entertain Hamburg, in 14th place after a 2-0 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach last week.