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Bayern out to bounce back

Berlin - German league leaders Bayern Munich look to get their Bundesliga campaign back on track against Schalke 04 on Tuesday following their shock defeat at VfL Wolfsburg.

Second-placed Wolves cut Bayern's lead to eight points on Friday as Bas Dost and Kevin de Bruyne both struck twice as the Bavarian giants suffered their heaviest league defeat for six years.

Roberto di Matteo's Schalke, who are fourth in the table, are seeking only their fourth away league win of the season and their first at Munich's Allianz Arena since 2009.

Bayern's Gelsenkirchen-born goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is relishing facing his home town club.

"It would have been worse if we'd had to wait eight days for our next game," said the ex-Schalke shot-stopper.

"Wolfsburg wasn't a good start to the second half of the season for us, that is obvious, we had imagine things would go differently.

"It wasn't a catastrophe, but we know we still have a lot of work ahead of us."

Netherlands winger Arjen Robben said Pep Guardiola's Bayern must respond after their "wake-up call" against Wolves.

"We have to learn our lessons and perhaps it's not so bad for the future," added Robben.

Schalke will be without Netherlands star striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the league's top scorer last season, who is suspended after being sent off for a reckless tackle in the 1-0 home win over Hanover 96 last Saturday.

"Klaas is obviously disappointed, it's a real shame. We'll have to see how we can cope with his loss," said Di Matteo.

The Schalke coach is also waiting on the fitness of midfielder Marco Hoeger, who limped off after scoring Saturday's winner with a thigh injury.

Second-placed Wolfsburg are hoping to include Chelsea's Andre Schuerrle for Tuesday's away match at Eintracht Frankfurt if they sign the Germany winger before the transfer window closes.

Schuerrle has said he wants to join Wolves, who are offering a four-year deal and a transfer worth 30 million euros, but the deal is reported to be stalling over the money offered to Chelsea.

Bottom side Borussia Dortmund have their work cut out as they chase their first win in six games when they travel to Augsburg on Wednesday.

Augsburg climbed to fifth after securing their tenth win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim on Sunday while Dortmund have lost 10 of their first 18 matches.

Borussia earned a precious point with a goalless draw at fellow Champions League side Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, but are only three points from mid-table.

Fixtures:

Tuesday

Bayern Munich v Schalke 04, Bor. Moenchengladbach v Freiburg Hanover 96 v Mainz 05, Eintracht Frankfurt v VfL Wolfsburg

Wednesday

Borussia Dortmund v Augsburg Hoffenheim v Werder Bremen, Hertha Berlin v Bayer Leverkusen, Cologne v VfB Stuttgart, Paderborn v Hamburg

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