FC Bayern: A Week of Anxiety as Bayern Takes on a 'Beatable Side'

When Bayern takes to the pitch this week, they will be taking on one of the beatable sides. St.Pauli, destined for relegation and with close to no chances of survival, will take on Bayern at the Millerntor Stadium. While Bayern has done away with both Leverkusen and Schalke, it is the smaller sides that have cost them points. Take Frankfurt and Koeln into the equation and you will know what I mean.

Last week was a wonderful one. Bayern did away with Schalke quite easily. Even Manuel Neuer provided very little resistance. Arjen Robben opened the scoreing. A Holger Badstuber own goal did nothing to dampen the mood, as Bayern struck three more times. Thomas Mueller scored and Mario Gomez put the ball into an empty net to move two goals ahead of Papiss Demba Cisse on the top scorers' chart.

This week has been about playing hardball with Schalke. Manuel Neuer's price tag seems to be rising every week. Recent rumours suggest that Luis Gustavo might be included in the deal. The initial deal was supposed to be in the region of around 20 million Euros. However, Franz Beckenbauer came out and said that Bayern should pay in the region of 50 million Euros for the keeper. He got Bayern into an incredibly difficult situation. Bayern has almost mentioned that Neuer will arrive next season and thus, has to find a way to get him.

Jupp Heynckes might have doubts about Neuer's arrival. That is why he wanted Hans Joerg Butt to sign a new contract. That is exactly what Butt did, signing an extension till 2012. He wanted to retire this season with a trophy. However, as Bayern will end the season without any silverware, he will stay on for another year and try to help Bayern win trophies. Thomas Kraft has confirmed that he will not be signing an extension, but will honour his contract.

Bayern, following last week's excellent 4-1 win, needs just four points to head to the Champions League qualifiers, provided that Hanover wins their remaining matches. If Hanover loses this weekend and Bayern wins, the deal will be done and Bayern will finish the campaign in at least third spot. They can mathematically take over Leverkusen. For that to happen, Leverkusen has to lose their remaining games and Bayern has to win theirs.

First thing first, though–St.Pauli has to beaten. Pauli will play for nothing but pride and will want to leave the Bundesliga on a high. Andre Schubert will be their coach from next season, as current coach Holger Stanislawski will leave for Hoffenheim after being associated with the club for 18 years. His announcement brought tears to his and to everyone's eyes in that Hamburg press conference.

St.Pauli is really made up of semi-professionals. They even had their press officer on the bench for a few games due to injury problems. Fabian Boll, who has played a big part in their campaign, is a police officer. However, the club is associated with pride and its fans were the first to protest against homophobia and racism.

Prediction: Bayern will not win this week. Their results against the smaller sides suggest that the most likely result is a draw.

Final Score: Pauli 1-1 Bayern

On a final note, congratulations to Borussia Dortmund, the new German Champions!