Pep Guardiola is showing signs of feeling the pressure as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich hunt their first win of the year at strugglers VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
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Bayern have failed to impress so far in 2015 in their two matches since returning from the Bundesliga’s winter break with an 11-point lead.
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Their shock 4-1 thrashing at second-placed Wolfsburg last Friday was followed by a 1-1 draw at home to Schalke on Tuesday after playing for 70 minutes with ten men.
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The usually calm and composed Bayern coach sprinted 45 metres to remonstrate with the assistant referee after a Robert Lewandowski goal was disallowed in the 66th minute against Schalke.
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“It was an emotional thing to do. I just spoke to him. It was very, very nice,” said Guardiola tongue-in-cheek after the heated confrontation.
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But despite his brush-off remark, Guardiola needs an impressive display from Bayern to sooth any jarred nerves after the Wolfsburg defeat.
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Having steamrollered their domestic rivals before Christmas, Bayern were rattled in Wolfsburg and allowed Schalke to equalise, albeit with a numerical disadvantage following Jerome Boateng’s dismissal.
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The Germany defender is banned for the next three games and misses the Stuttgart trip, plus home matches against Hamburg and away to Paderborn
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Stuttgart present the ideal chance to get back on track as Huub Stevens side are third from bottom after winning just one of their nine home games this season.
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Arjen Robben headed Bayern into the lead at the Allianz Arena before Schalke equalised and the Dutch star says they can ill afford similar performances as they bid for silverware.
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“Of course, we played with ten men for most of the match, but when you let them equalise, conceding a goal like that can be deadly in the Champions League,” said the 31-year-old.
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Bayern have two league games before they face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian city of Lviv in the Champions League last 16, first-leg clash.
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