Bayern win their tenth game in a row in all competitions without ever really breaking a sweat. Goals from Gnabry and Choupo-Moting send Julian Nagelsmann's side into the World Cup break in fine fettle. The defending champions are sitting pretty on top of the Bundesliga, where they will stay until proceedings resume in the winter.

Schalke win a corner following some solid work by the determined Latza. Larsson takes but Bayern are able to clear.

The second half is underway in Gelsenkirchen. Can Schalke bounce back here or will Bayern double down? We're about to find out.

There ends a pretty decent first 45' minutes. Bayern have edged it and deservedly lead through one more Gnabry goal. Schalke will feel more than a little upbeat about their solid showing in that first half, however. Plenty to play for in the second half here.

Schalke will be loving this. The visitors just haven't really got going at all here and are being penned in through the middle by the Royal Blues, who are looking to pass their way out when the opportunity arises.

We've witnessed a cracking opening to this one. Schalke are at their usual, Thomas Reis-inspired snapping-at-heels best while Bayern are patiently trying to unlock a compact home formation.

Bayern kick off and we are go at the Veltins Arena.

The teams are out! Beautiful contrast between the Royal Blue of the hosts and Bayern's deep red. It's handshakes time as the stadium announcer belts out the names on the team sheets.

A special, special atmosphere inside the ground as we await the appearance of both teams. Blue and white flags are waving everywhere as the Schalke anthem belts out. Not long to go now.

So, what chance a Schalke victory this evening? The hosts are winless in their last 21 matches against Bayern and have only managed three draws during that run. But as we all know, in football, the shock factor always exists.

Every one of Bayern's starting eleven are headed to the World Cup (six with Germany, four for France and Choupo-Moting with Cameroon). Schalke have but one Qatar-bound player in their line-up: Maya Yoshida.

Coach Thomas Reis opts for just one change to his starting XI compared to the side that started the 1-0, midweek win against Mainz with Dominick Drexler in for Florent Mollet, who drops to the bench.

Schwolow - Brunner, Matriciani, Yoshida, Mohr - Kral, Krauß - Karaman, Drexler, Bülter - Terodde (c)

Fährmann, Larsson, Latza, Kolodziejczak, Flick, Mollet, Aydin, Polter, Sane

Neuer (c) - Pavard, Upamecano, Hernandez - Gnabry, Kimmich, Goretzka, Coman – Musiala, Sane – Choupo-Moting

Ulreich, De Ligt, Wanner, Sabitzer, Gravenberch, Tel, Mazraoui, Stanisic

Both teams come into the clash without a number of players. Bayern's absences are arguably more worrying: star forward Sadio Mane picked up an injury against Werder Bremen on Tuesday and was a doubt for Senegal's World Cup squad before eventually being included, while Alphonso Davies and Thomas Müller also miss out here. For Schalke, Sepp van den Berg and Rodrigo Zalazar are on the sidelines with long-term injuries, as are Leo Greiml and Thomas Ouwejan, meaning options are limited in defence up against the Bundesliga’s meanest attack.

Borussia Dortmund's recent collapse means Bayern Munich can open up an eight-point gap over BVB, although they will stay top of the Bundesliga over the winter break regardless of the result in Gelsenkirchen. Schalke's first campaign back in the top flight has been a difficult one so far as they prop up the table, but the 1-0 victory over Mainz in midweek should provide a confidence boost. With this the last league game at the Veltins-Arena until the end of January, expect the home crowd to be in full voice, although their team will need to come up with something special to get anything against the reigning champions.