Bayern Munich vs Mainz - Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola aware of Mainz threat

Bayern Munich will have to be wary of Mainz this Wednesday, according to their coach Pep Guardiola.

Bayern can pull 11 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a win, if Borussia Dortmund slip up against Darmstadt, but Guardiola is not counting his chickens before they have hatched, warning of the quality Mainz have.

"Everybody's talking about Wolfsburg and Dortmund, but what about Mainz? They are fifth in the table," he said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"Mainz have a strong team with many dynamic players and a good goalkeeper."

Guardiola will therefore not look ahead to the top-of-the-table clash with Dortmund at the weekend until his side have done their job against Martin Schmidt's men at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

Should Mainz continue the form which has seen them pick up four wins from their last five Bundesliga matches, a home win is not something that can be taken for granted either.

"If we play in a typical Mainz fashion, then anything can happen," said Schmidt, whose side proved their strength by beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 at the weekend.

"We always want to win games - there's no such thing as an outing or excursion for us."

Schmidt expects to see Mario Gotze and Franck Ribery line up for Bayern, but Guardiola would not confirm whether his suspicions are correct, other than to say that the French winger has impressed him a great deal on his return from injury.

"Franck Ribery is one of the most important players in the history of Bayern Munich," said the Catalan.

"We're delighted he is back."

Guardiola will still have to wait a while before Jerome Boateng, Holger Badstuber and Javi Martinez return, but with Medhi Benatia now back to full fitness, his defensive worries have subsided.