Back to business for Bayern, which aims to build on 6-point Bundesliga lead

BERLIN (AP) — After the Champions League excitement, it's back to business in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, while Borussia Dortmund hopes incoming coach Niko Kovač can help spur a stop to its slide.

The bottom five clubs — Bochum, Holstein Kiel, Heidenheim, Hoffenheim and Union Berlin — all face tough games in their bid for survival. It’s going to be the first weekend of a trial of referees making announcements to explain video review rulings to spectators, a change league officials hope will make the much-maligned VAR system more popular among fans.

— Bayern will expect to preserve or even increase its six-point lead when it hosts relegation-threatened Holstein Kiel on Saturday. Kiel is second from bottom and on course to go straight back to the second division after just one season in the top flight.

— Defending champion Leverkusen hosts Hoffenheim and realistically needs a win on Sunday to maintain any pressure on Bayern before the top two clash in Leverkusen on Feb. 15. Leipzig ended Leverkusen’s eight-game winning run in the Bundesliga last weekend.

— Dortmund interim coach Mike Tullberg remains in charge for Saturday's visit to Heidenheim before new coach Niko Kovač takes over on Sunday. Dortmund hasn't won a Bundesliga game since December over Kovač's ex-club Wolfsburg. But Tullberg oversaw its first win of 2025 on Wednesday, 3-1 over Shakhtar Donetsk to reach the Champions League playoffs.

— In the race for Champions League qualification, Stuttgart hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach and Leipzig visits Union Berlin on Saturday. Fourth-placed Stuttgart is just ahead of Leipzig on goal difference. Only the top four qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.

— Other fixtures: Werder Bremen vs. Mainz, Bochum vs. Freiburg, St. Pauli vs. Augsburg, and Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Wolfsburg.

— Bayern star Harry Kane finally scored from open play last week – his first goal that wasn’t a penalty since Nov. 22. It took his season tally to 17 including seven penalties. Kane, who was praised for his defensive work, will want to get back to doing what he’s best known for when he faces Kiel, which has the worst defense in the league (48 goals conceded in 19 games).

— Florian Wirtz did everything but score as Leverkusen was held by Leipzig to 2-2 last weekend. The Germany star set up two goals and hit the post three times. He will be keen to put the ball between the posts against Hoffenheim, whose goalkeeper and captain Oliver Baumann is out with an injury.

— Stuttgart forward Nick Woltemade is enjoying his best form since breaking into the team, with three goals in his last three games. Woltemade wasn’t nominated for Stuttgart’s Champions League squad at the start of the season, but the 1.98-meter forward has shown he’s more than just an alternative to regular starters Deniz Undav and Ermedin Demirović.

— Bayern midfielder Leon Goretzka was forced to go off against Freiburg last weekend but could return against Kiel. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany has options with Aleksandar Pavlović and João Palhinha both back from injuries.

— Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha is out with a knee injury sustained in the draw with Werder Bremen last weekend.

— Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface's expected move to Al-Nassr for a reported 70 million euros is off, coach Xabi Alonso said late Wednesday.

— Leverkusen clinched a loan deal for Argentine midfielder Emiliano Buendia from Aston Villa and was reportedly close to a similar deal for Spanish defender Mario Hermoso from Roma. Buendia replaces the injured Martin Terrier while Hermoso could fill in for Jeanuel Belocian.

— Mathys Tel could be on the verge of leaving Bayern. The 19-year-old French forward hasn’t played as much as he’d like this season and has reportedly asked for a winter transfer, most likely on loan. Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund previously said the club planned to keep the forward.

— “Marmoush is Marmoush, and Wahi is Wahi.” — French forward Elye Wahi at his Eintracht Frankfurt presentation after arriving from Lens to replace Omar Marmoush, who joined Manchester City for a reported 70 million euros ($73 million).

— “FC Bayern’s fortunes won’t depend on whether I extend my contract or not.” – Bayern veteran Thomas Müller on his future at the club.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz greets fans after the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Sparta Prague at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Leverkusen's head coach Xabi Alonso celebrates with Leverkusen's Alex Grimaldo after the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Sparta Prague at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bayern's Thomas Muller, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal with Josip Stanisic during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayern Munich and Slovan Bratislava at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Jan. 29, 2025. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Defending champion Gael Monfils lost his opening match at the ATP Tour stop in Auckland, New Zealand on Tuesday, three days after his wife Elina Svitolina won her 19th WTA Tour title on the same court.

The 39-year-old Frenchman lost 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to 26-year-old Hungarian Fabian Marozsan at the ASB Classic in what may be the first match of his farewell season.

Monfils won the Auckland title in 2025 and told his wife Elina before her final on Sunday “if you don’t win this year I don’t know what to tell you anymore.” Svitolina and Monfils are one of only a few husband and wife teams to have held ATP and WTA singles titles in the same tournament at the same time.

Monfils started strongly in his first tournament since September, winning the first set with a break in the 11th game. He sent down 10 aces in the match. Monfils lost his first service game in the second set as Marozsan pulled off two superb winners at the net and went on to lose the set 6-3.

Monfils put up a great fight in the third set. After dropping his serve in the fifth game, he broke back immediately and tested Marozsan with his power variation. But Marozsan achieved the crucial break at 5-4 and held to take the match in exactly two hours.

“It's always special to play against Gael. He's a legend and a great player,” Marozsan said.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine stands with her husband, French tennis player Gael Monfils, after defeating Wang Xinju of China in the women's single final of the ASB Classic women's tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand on Sunday 11 Jan. 2026. (Alan Lee/Photosport via AP)