BERLIN, April 2 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich have all but wrapped up the Bundesliga title with a nine-point advantage and seven games remaining but motivation will not be an issue when they travel to Freiburg on Saturday with the league's scoring record in sight.
The Bavarians have tallied 97 league goals in a dominant season so far, four short of the record 101 from their 1971/72 campaign.
Vincent Kompany's teamlook set to top the 99 goals scored last year in the Belgian coach's first season in charge, while forward Harry Kane is eyeing Robert Lewandowski's all-time Bundesliga scoring record of 41 goals in a single season.
The England captain has already netted 31 times in the Bundesliga, and teammate Luis Diaz has added another 15, with Michael Olise delivering an impressive 17 assists to his 11 goals.
Freiburg's defenders will have their work cut out but Bayern know they are facing a team with a lot left to play for.
As well as a German Cup semi-final and a first-ever Europa League quarter-final spot against Celta Vigo next week, Freiburg are also battling for one of the Bundesliga's European places.
Freiburg are a tough nut to crack at their own stadium, losing only two of their 19 home matches in all competitions, but their busy schedule has taken a toll in the league.
Sitting in eighth place, they are nine points off sixth spot which brings a berth in the Europa Conference League. Depending on results in the German Cup, seventh place could also be enough to qualify for the third-tier European competition next season.
“As a team, we set ourselves the goal to go into spring with a double workload," said Freiburg coach Julian Schuster.
"But now, we’re still playing in three competitions. That is anything but a given. Of course, I am very happy that we’ve got to this stage in the season. There is great anticipation for the upcoming, exciting challenges."
These challenges include league matches in April against Bayern and second-placed Borussia Dortmund as well as the German Cup semi against VfB Stuttgart.
Including their Europa League fixtures, Freiburg have seven matches in 21 days.
"We are very grateful for these upcoming challenges and we’re definitely looking forward to them more than we are seeing them as a burden," said Schuster.
"These are very exciting times, and I will certainly have to take one or two days at the end of the year to just reflect on all that has happened."
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
