Bayern, Hertha clash at the top

Thomas Muller will look to make up for lost time after missing the previous match for illness.

High-flying Hertha Berlin will attempt to loosen Bayern Munich's iron-grip in the Bundesliga on Wednesday in the German league's top-of-the-table clash.

Hertha’s 2-0 win at home to Schalke on Sunday means Berlin and Bayern, the only German clubs who still have 100 percent records with three wins from three, will square off at Munich's Allianz Arena.

“We’re enormously happy that we now have nine points, but Bayern is a completely different opponent,” admitted Hertha's left-back Marvin Plattenhardt. “We’ll need a really good day.”

The German league has a round of midweek matches with the highlight being Bayern's hosting of Hertha while Borussia Dortmund, who have posted back-to-back 6-0 wins, are at Wolfsburg on Tuesday.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern will be without Brazil winger Douglas Costa, who has been ruled out for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury .

Captain Philipp Lahm, David Alaba, Thomas Mueller and Mats Hummels all missed the Bavarian derby victory with illness.

Despite their personnel woes, Bayern look to be on course to claim a fifth straight German league title this season having also routed Werder Bremen 6-0 and won 2-0 at Schalke this season.

But Pal Dardai’s Hertha are one of the few teams who look capable of weakening Bayern's hold on top spot. On Sunday, goals by ex-Bayern midfielder Mitchell Weiser and Swiss midfielder Valentin Stocker gave Hertha three wins from three.

On Tuesday, Dortmund take on Wolfsburg. Their drubbing of Darmstadt on Saturday came with star forwards Mario Goetze and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the bench.

But Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel has warned his side they can expect tougher matches at Wolfsburg, then Freiburg on Friday. With just one win from their three league games, Wolfsburg were held to goalless draws by Cologne and Hoffenheim in their last two matches.

At the other end of the table, Schalke 04 host Cologne on Wednesday desperate for points after three straight defeats.