Can Bayern be stopped in the Bundesliga?

Posted Thursday, September 29, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP)—Having won its last 10 matches without conceding a goal, Bayern Munich is looking invincible.

German experts fear the season could become unexciting if Bayern continues its impressive run even if it’s still too early to call the championship.

Bayern could face a test when it travels to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, although captain Philipp Lahm believes “no team can threaten Bayern in the German league in normal circumstances.”

Lahm is not alone.

“Unless we let up, no team is going to beat us,” said striker Mario Gomez, who scored both goals in Bayern’s 2-0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Bayern sporting director Christian Nerlinger said the team is full of confidence.

“But every team goes through a slump in a season and we haven’t really had any. That’s when we’ll found out how stable everything is,” Nerlinger told Thursday’s edition of Kicker magazine. “We play as a unit now. (Coach) Jupp Heynckes is doing a very good job. He is showing that with a humane approach you can keep things under control.”

Bayern struggled last season under the authoritarian and stubborn Louis van Gaal and finally fired the coach before the season was over. The club failed to win any titles.

Heynckes brought some much needed calm into the club and shored up the defense without taking away anything from the attack. Gomez already has eight goals in the Bundesliga.

After losing its opener, Bayern has won the next six Bundesliga games and scored 21 goals, while conceding only one.

France winger Franck Ribery has been given the creative freedom to remain outside tactical constraints and is paying Heynckes back with outstanding performances, making up for the frequent injury absences of Arjen Robben.

“I feel free, I can do what I want. It’s a lot of fun,” Ribery said.

Hoffenheim is coming off a 2-0 loss at Cologne but remains fourth despite three defeats.

Defending champion Borussia Dortmund ended a three-match winless run by beating Mainz 2-1 on the road—only to lose 3-0 to Marseille in the Champions League. At home to promoted and still winless Augsburg, Dortmund will be looking to regain some of last season’s form.

Werder Bremen, which is two points behind Bayern, plays Sunday at Hannover. Hamburger SV, still bottom despite its first win under interim coach Rodolfo Cardoso, hosts Schalke, also on Sunday.

Schalke arrives with new coach Huub Stevens, who also negotiated with Hamburg.

Borussia Moenchengladbach, which barely averted relegation but is now third, also two points behind Bayern, travels to slumping Freiburg on Saturday.

In other matches Saturday, Bayer Leverkusen hosts Wolfsburg, Nuremberg plays Mainz and Cologne is at Hertha Berlin.

Kaiserslautern kicks off the eighth round on Friday at home against Stuttgart.