Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm is relishing what he describes as a "decisive week" for the Bundesliga leaders in their bid for an historic fourth straight league title.
Bayern are eight points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who they play away next Saturday in a top-of-the-table clash for Pep Guardiola's Bavarian side, the second of two tough back-to-back league games in the coming week.
Bayern host fifth-placed Mainz on Wednesday, then travel to Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park to play their nearest rivals in Germany’s ‘Der Klassiker’.
Lahm says the aim is beat Mainz, then win at Dortmund to travel home with at least an 11-point advantage to put Bayern in pole position for a fourth straight title with nine games left.
“I think it will be a decisive week in the title race,” said Lahm.
“If we manage to win both of our next games then we can definitely talk about the championship, but we still have a long way to go.
“We’ve still got a few games after this week, but if we win our next two then it’ll be very difficult to catch us.
“But first we need to beat Mainz and Dortmund. We can take a huge step forward.”
Two years ago, Bayern set the record for the earliest German league title win at the end of March – with seven games left – but Lahm says they are not focusing on setting a date to win the title by.
“No, at the moment our aim is to travel to Dortmund with an eight-point lead,” he said.
“We want to win there, which would give us an 11-point advantage and that would be a key moment in deciding the championship race.”
Bayern are still without a fit centre-back in their squad, but Medhi Benatia is working his way back while Mario Gotze is close to making his return after a persistent leg injury.
Mainz have won four of their last five games with attacking midfielder Yunus Malli as their top scorer with ten goals, two of which came in Sunday's 3-1 win at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
Wolfsburg are at bottom side Hannover on Tuesday without goal-scoring defender Naldo, who is set to miss the rest of the season after dislocating his shoulder in Saturday's defeat to Bayern and needs an operation.
Wolfsburg are short of defenders with Sebastian Jung out for the rest of the season with torn knee ligaments while Timm Klose was sold to Norwich City in the January winter break.
It means Robin Knoche will partner Dante at centre-back with Hannover having broken their eight-game losing streak last Saturday as Japan midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake created both goals in their shock 2-1 win at Stuttgart.
Second-placed Dortmund are at Darmstadt on Wednesday hoping to have captain Mats Hummels back from a hip injury which kept him out of their 3-1 fightback win over Hoffenheim on Sunday.
Fixtures (UAE times)
Hannover v Wolfsburg (11pm), Ingolstadt v Cologne (11pm)
Wednesday
Bayern Munich v Mainz (11pm), Schalke v Hamburg (11pm), Bayer Leverkusen v Werder Bremen (11pm), Borussia Monchengladbach v Stuttgart (11pm), Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt v, Hoffenheim v Augsburg (11pm), Darmstadt v Borussia Dortmund (11pm)
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
Mobile phone packages comparison
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHakbah%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENaif%20AbuSaida%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E22%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-Series%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%20and%20Aditum%20Investment%20Management%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20profile%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYodawy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarim%20Khashaba%2C%20Sherief%20El-Feky%20and%20Yasser%20AbdelGawad%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2424.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlgebra%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20MEVP%20and%20Delivery%20Hero%20Ventures%2C%20among%20others%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20500%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
