Bayern Munich travel to Stuttgart for Cup Match

Säbener Strasse, Munich - After Borussia Dortmund's gutsy win in Nuremberg on Friday night sent the champions top of the table, FC Bayern München's Bundesliga campaign faltered again. A 1-1 draw against Hamburger SV on Saturday night was "not enough" according to head coach Jupp Heynckes.  The two points dropped at HSV now leaves the Reds trailing in 2nd place in the table.

But while their league form may have left fans uninspired, Heynckes for one was getting excited for the club's next few games, starting with Wednesday's trip to VfB Stuttgart in the quarter final of the German Cup, a match of high stakes in the 66-year-old's opinion.

"The team is looking forward to the game against Stuttgart, as it gives us an opportunity to bounce straight back and put the result in Hamburg to bed," explained Heynckes.  "We are an ambitious team and we want to get through. For me, the priority will always be the (league) championship, as it's played over a long period and shows which team is the best over 34 games. But of course we want to progress in the cup as well."

The inadequate beginning to the second half of the season, the latest episode of which was witnessed in Hamburg, has had some people questioning just what has gone amiss between the Bayern team at the beginning of the season, which seemed to sweep all before it, and the one which has limped and laboured through its last three fixtures. Heynckes conceded that his team is currently lacking its erstwhile "rhythm," but stopped short of singling out his players.

 "I have a team which are very self-critical and are never satisfied. There is pressure when you play for this club, and it's a different kind of pressure compared to other clubs. But I have no doubt that it's only a matter of time before this team explodes back to form," he expressed in a calm and almost defiant tone.

Having had three days to digest and analyse what went wrong at the Imtech Arena, Wednesday will show whether those three days was time enough for FC Bayern München.