Thomas Muller got on the scoresheet for Bayern in their win over Frankfurt (ANDREAS GEBERT / POOL / AFP)
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both secured comfortable wins in Saturday’s Bundesliga action ahead of their top-of-the-table clash on Tuesday.
Reigning champions Bayern saw off a spirited Eintracht Frankfurt 5-2 at home, with Leon Goretzka, Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski giving them a 3-0 lead before a quick-fire double from Martin Hinteregger gave Franfurt hope.
However, Alphonso Davies soon stemmed the visitors momentum, before Hinteregger once again found the net, but this time at the wrong end, as Bayern maintained their four-point lead at the top.
That came after Dortmund, their closest challengers in the title race, had temporarily cut the lead to one point with a 2-0 win at Wolfsburg, thanks to goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi.
Dortmund host Bayern in the match known as “Der Klassiker” on Tuesday evening, with kick-off at 20:30 UAE time.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen won 3-1 at Borussua Monchengladbach to leapfrog their opponents into third in the table, while 10-man Werder Bremen overcame Freiburg 1-0 and bottom-of-the-table Paderborn held Hoffenheim to a 1-1 draw.
Australia were dealt an early blow in their quest to reach the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup after the depleted former champions crashed to a 23-run defeat by Zimbabwe in Colombo on Friday.
Arsenal has wasted the chance to restore their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Brentford on Thursday, with Noni Madueke's second-half header cancelled out by Keane Lewis-Potter.
Defending champions India continued their march towards the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup with a 93-run win over Namibia in a group A contest at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.
Brothers Justin and Anthony Mosca guided Twenty20 World Cup debutants Italy to their first win in the tournament, as their unbeaten half-centuries secured a dominant 10-wicket victory over Nepal in a Group C clash on Thursday.