Our Picks: Tuchel toils at Bayern and a relegation scrap in the Championship

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Our Picks: Tuchel toils at Bayern and a relegation scrap in the Championship

Our Picks: Bayern and Tuchel toil and a Championship relegation scrap
Our Picks: Bayern and Tuchel toil and a Championship relegation scrapAFP
Bayern Munich face a crunch clash with RB Leipzig this weekend as they aim to stop the rot or let rivals Bayer Leverkusen run away with this season's Bundesliga title, while there's a relegation battle at the foot of the Championship between two of England's worst-performing sides.

There are also some juicy-looking ties from Serie A and League Two worth keeping an eye on.

Take a look at Flashscore UK's top picks to watch out for this weekend:

Bayern Munich v RB Leipzig - Anthony Paphitis 

Bayern Munich will attempt to prevent their season from completely coming off the rails when they host RB Leipzig on Saturday evening. 

The Bavarian-based side, who announced they will be parting ways with coach Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season, are toiling having lost three straight games in all competitions. 

It started with a damaging loss to Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen before they slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Lazio in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. 

Bayern form
Bayern formFlashscore

A loss at Bochum last weekend has now left Bayern eight points adrift of Leverkusen in what is looking like an uphill battle for a 12th consecutive league crown. 

They will try to arrest their slump against a Leipzig side who they haven't beaten in their last four meetings, which includes a 3-0 defeat in the German Super Cup from August.

Marco Rose's team - currently in fifth place - haven't necessarily been free-flowing this term, but they are maintaining their pursuit for a top-four spot. 

They too were narrowly beaten in the first leg of their Champions League knockout tie, but a solid showing in their win over Borussia Monchengladbach last time out will lift things. 

Bundesliga standings
Bundesliga standingsFlashscore

Looking to counteract Bayern stalwart Harry Kane, who has a superb 25 league goals in 22 appearances, Leipzig will be looking towards their own talisman in Lois Openda to find the net. 

The 24-year-old Belgian has scored 16 times in his first season with the club and he registered a goal and an assist when the two sides drew 2-2 in September's reverse fixture. 

The opportunity to pile on Bayern's misery is certainly there for Leipzig, but they will still need to be cautious and on top form regardless. 

That is due to the hosts boasting a strong record at the Allianz Arena winning nine games, drawing and losing one.

QPR v Rotherham - Brad Ferguson

It's safe to say it's a tough time to be from Rotherham at the moment.

Football often provides a respite from the issues and torments of the outside world but unfortunately, that can't be said for The Millers, who have endured an utterly miserable campaign in the Championship which has seen them firmly rooted to the bottom pretty much from the get-go.

They did put up a decent fight in defeat to Ipswich on Tuesday evening, but after equalising in the 94th minute, conceding to lose just one minute later was "heart-wrenching" according to boss Leam Richardson. 

With just 19 points 33 games and wins you can comfortably count on one hand, Rotherham are some way off safety, some 14 points off a tumbling Millwall outside the relegation zone, and even 13 points off Saturday's opponents QPR.

Championship standings
Championship standingsFlashscore

They travel to Loftus Road with a glimmer of hope though, with the Hoops finding success on home soil hard to come by so far this term, with no side in the division accumulating fewer points on their own turf than QPR's 14.

However, an uptick in form has got QPR fans thinking a great escape could be on, especially after they beat Bristol City 1-0 in midweek to further boost their survival hopes. 

It's a must-win for both sides, although perhaps more so for the west Londoners as Rotherham's fate seems all but sealed.

Form
FormFlashscore

Still, with a bit of time to go, who knows what a win for them this weekend could do for their confidence?

We were after all writing the likes of QPR and Sheffield Wednesday off very recently.

Notts County v Crewe Alexandra - Ali Pollock

The current landscape in League Two is almost hard to believe, with only three points separating Harrogate in 7th - the final play-off spot - and Walsall in 16th.

An astounding 10 teams are one win away from a spot in the play-offs and no real standout contenders are emerging in the chasing pack as the business end of the season gets underway.

Notts County are part of that pack, finding themselves in 10th place and just a point off of the top seven.

League Two
League TwoFlashscore

They face Crewe on Saturday, who are sitting comfortably in fourth and are challenging for an automatic promotion spot.

One thing guaranteed in a Notts County match is goals – the hosts have scored 65 and conceded 59 in League Two this season.

Talisman Macaulay Langstaff has already hit 22 for the current campaign, while David McGoldrick has 12 and Dan Crowley is on 11.

Perhaps even more impressive is the playmaking ability of Jodi Jones, who has set up 19 goals from the wing – the most ever in a single League Two season and we’re only in February.

Crewe’s goals are more evenly distributed throughout the squad, with the likes of Elliott Nevitt, Christopher Long and Courtney Baker-Richardson all chipping in.

League Two on the whole is one of the most unpredictable and exciting divisions in the country this year – and a huge clash between two attack-minded sides chasing promotion is sure to be another top spectacle.

Cagliari v Napoli - Ste Carson

Napoli's Franceso Calzona will be somewhat relieved to be facing 19th-placed Cagliari this weekend.

The Italian champions' new boss' first match in charge was against Barcelona in the Champions League mid-week, which was pegged back to 1-1 after the Catalans broke the deadlock.

Napoli, slumped in ninth, are enduring a difficult season as title holders – one week from the next, it's hard to know which version of the Azzurri will turn up.

Serie A
Serie AFlashscore

That should offer some confidence to Sunday afternoon's hosts, Cagliari, but with a goal differential of -23 it's hard to imagine anything better then a no-score or low-score draw.

Napoli, despite underperforming this term, are stacked with superstars and will expect a win at the Unipol Domus.

Victor Osimhen, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Matteo Politano – who all featured against Barcelona – remain significant threats.

Napoli recent results
Napoli recent resultsFlashscore

Cagliari will be hoping those extra minutes in Napoli's legs will slow them down. For the Rossoblu, Zito Luvumbo, Leonardo Pavoletti and Gianluca Gaetano have impressed in rashes this term.

A win for Napoli would see the Italian champions leapfrog Fiorentina into eighth place – a point behind Lazio and two behind Roma in sixth (Europa Conference League qualification).

Anything less than a win for Cagliari would see them remain in the relegation zone, but one point (or three) could go a long way by the season's end.

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