Bayern Munich have the chance to move within 13 points of being crowned Bundesliga champions should they beat hosts Augsburg at WWK Arena on Friday.

Augsburg are in eighth place with 39 points following their 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim on March 29, while the Bavarians' current points tally of 65 is six more than second-placed Bayer Leverkusen with just seven matchweeks remaining.

Match preview

The home side struggled to create opportunities in the final third against Hoffenheim, producing just one shot on target in the first half while only generating one big chance in the second.

Augsburg's record in front of goal has been poor all season having only found the back of the net 30 times in the Bundesliga – the fourth worst return in the top flight – and they have failed to score in four of their last eight.

Manager Jess Thorup's side were thoroughly outplayed in the reverse fixture against Bayern when they lost 3-0 on November 22, and they have in fact lost five consecutive games against the visitors, conceding at least three times in each matchup.

The Fuggerstadter have proven difficult to best for some time, with the club avoiding defeat in 11 of their last 12 outings in all competitions, winning six and keeping eight clean sheets.

Augsburg's form at home has also been strong given they have only lost three of their 14 matches at WWK Arena this season while achieving victory seven times.

The visitors narrowly beat relegation-threatened St Pauli 3-2 last Saturday, though it is difficult to argue that they were not deserving winners given they created seven big chances compared to their opponents' one.

Boss Vincent Kompany will be concerned by his team's defensive frailty of late considering they have conceded six goals in their past three league matches, and have not kept a clean sheet in their last four in the top flight.

However, the Bundesliga leaders have now scored three or more goals in 17 of their 27 games in the league this season, and their tally of 78 goals is at least 16 more than any of the other 17 teams in the division.

Though Bayern look like clear favourites to finish first, they will need to avoid complacency given they still have to face fourth-placed Mainz 05, fifth-placed Borussia Monchengladbach, sixth-placed RB Leipzig and fierce rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Kompany's side come into Friday's clash in strong overall form having triumphed in 10 of their last 14 while losing just once, but they have drawn two and lost one of their past six in the Bundesliga.

The Bavarians have been fallible away from home given in their 11 most recent fixtures on the road they been held to a stalemate three times and been beaten on a further two occasions.

Augsburg possible starting lineup:

Dahmen; Matsima, Gouweleeuw, Zesiger; Wolf, Onyeka, Rexhbecaj, Giannoulis; Jensen, Claude-Maurice; Essende

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:

Urbig; Laimer, Dier, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Palhinha; Olise, Musiala, Sane; Kane