Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich

February 9, 2024

Bayer Leverkusen take on Bayern Munich in a crunch top-of-the-table clash at the BayArena on Saturday evening (local time).

Die Werkself ended their three-game losing streak at home to Bayern Munich when they pulled off a 2-1 comeback win over the Bavarians last March.

Now, Bayer Leverkusen are bidding to claim back-to-back home wins over Bayern Munich for the first time since 1997.

The Bavarians have won only one of their last four meetings against Bayer Leverkusen, with Xabi Alonso's side earning a 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena earlier this season (in September). Exequiel Palacios' last-gasp penalty rescued a point for Leverkusen.

Bayer Leverkusen Betting Preview (+165 at Everygame)

Die Werkself finished sixth in the Bundesliga last season but their progress in Xabi Alonso's first full season is quite unbelievable..

Bayer Leverkusen extended their remarkable 30-game unbeaten run in all competitions when they claimed a 3-2 comeback win over Stuttgart in an entertaining DFB-Pokal quarter-final on Tuesday night.

Xabi Alonso's high-flying Werkself outfit continue to pursue silverware in three competitions. They are top of the Bundesliga table and are also in pole position to win the German Cup, given the fact that their possible opponents there are Fortuna Dusseldorf and FC Kaiserslautern (two 2. Bundesliga sides) as well as the winner of the match between FC Saarbrucken and Borussia Monchengladbach.

Leverkusen have shown a fantastic spirit to beat a tricky Stuttgart side in front of the Germany national team director Rudi Völler, who played for Leverkusen in the mid 90's, led the club for two short spells and most importantly - was Leverkusen's sporting director between 2005 and 2022.

The work of Voller and Simon Rolfes - the current managing director - in assembling the squad that Xabi Alonso has at his disposal cannot be overlooked.

Florian Wirtz produced another impressive performance when the young German playmaker added two more assists to his name. The 20-year-old already boasts 8 goals and 15 assists in 28 matches in all competitions this term and will also play a pivotal role against Bayern Munich this weekend.

Nigeria forward Victor Boniface remains sidelined, however, with the Bayer Leverkusen top scorer not expected to return until April. He suffered a muscle-tendon injury in the right adductor area during his national team's training camp in Dubai on the eve of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Nigerian forward has hit the ground running since his summer move from Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, adding 10 goals and 7 assists in just 16 top-flight matches, thus playing a leading role in their ascent to the Bundesliga summit.

With Boniface unavailable for the clash, Patrik Schick and winter arrival Borja Iglesias are in contention for the starting spot up front. Schick enjoyed his first Bundesliga start for 14 months just before Christmas when the Czech forward bagged a hat-trick for Bayer Leverkusen's 4-0 home victory over Bochum. However, he is yet to score since and remained an unused substitute at Darmstadt last weekend.

Borja Iglesias enjoyed his first start for Leverkusen against Darmstadt as the experienced Spanish forward will be keen to regain his confidence under Xabi Alonso. Igleasias had scored 15 goals in 35 La Liga games for Real Betis last season but failed to score in 11 matches in 2023-24.

Matej Kovar started in goal in the German Cup game in midweek but the Czech goalkeeper will make way for veteran-skipper Lukas Hradecky on Saturday.

Amine Adli, who scored the second goal for Leverkusen against Stuttgart right after he was brought on as a second-half substitute, is also pushing for a start here, but Xabi Alonso could be reluctant to make more wholesale changes.

In addition to Boniface's absence, Ivory Coast defender Odilon Kossounou is still at the Africa Cup of Nations, while right-back Arthur and Argentine midfielder Exequiel Palacios are both recovering from injuries.

Bayern Munich Betting Preview (+145 at Everygame)

Thomas Tuchel’s Bavarians are not in the best position right now with the team only having dropped 10 points so far and being on course for an 85-point season, but the style of football has been drab, uninspired and simply not cohesive with Bayern Munich’s philosophy.

Bayern Munich have won all but one of their last seven Bundesliga matches since a devastating 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt in December (their first Bundesliga loss of the season). Yet, it was a shock 1-0 home loss to Werder Bremen on 21 January and Thomas Tuchel must brace himself for an even more challenging tactical duel with Xabi Alonso.

Tuchel joined the Bundesliga giants in March last year and will be determined to deploy his legendary tactical acumen in the business end of this season after close to a year in charge.

It was an exciting January transfer window for Bayern Munich, though, with three signings with various levels of experience eager to get stuck into their demanding campaign.

However, there is a notable gulf between the type of players Tuchel has at his disposal and the kind of football he wants to impose. The primary reason the Bavarians have managed to keep pace with Bayer Leverkusen is through individual brilliance from some of the special talents at the club: especially the likes of Kim Min-jae, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Leroy Sane and Harry Kane, who have been the most frequent overperformers.

With 24 goals in 20 Bundesliga appearances, Harry Kane still has a chance of breaking Robert Lewandowski's all-time Bundesliga goals-in-a-season record (the Poland striker bagged 41 goals scored in the 2020–21 season). The England forward is set to lead Bayern Munich's attack in Leverkusen but Thomas Tuchel remains without a number of first-team players.

Backup goalkeeper Daniel Peretz as well as the likes of Bouna Sarr, Alphonso Davies, Konrad Laimer, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry are all sidelined for the Bavarians.

Kim Min-jae should be back in contention following South Korea's shock semi-final loss to Jordan in the Asian Cup semi-finals earlier this week.

In another huge boost for Thomas Tuchel, Dayot Upamecano and Joshua Kimmich have both returned to full training on Wednesday, while winter signing Bryan Zaragoza missed a training session due to illness.

It remains to be seen whether some of the aforementioned players will be ready to start at the BayArena on Saturday evening. If Upamecano and Kim are not fully fit to feature from the outset, Eric Dier will keep his starting spot alongside Matthijs de Ligt in defense.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are set for a trip to Rome on Valentine's Day but it might not be a romantic one if they fail to beat Lazio in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Possible Starting Lineups of Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich

Bayer Leverkusen: Lukas Hradecky - Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, Piero Hincapie - Jeremie Frimpong, Robert Andrich, Granit Xhaka, Alex Grimaldo - Florian Wirtz, Jonas Hofmann - Patrik Schick. (3-4-2-1)

Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer - Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, Eric Dier, Raphaël Guerreiro - Aleksandar Pavlovic, Leon Goretzka - Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala - Harry Kane. (4-2-3-1)

Spooky Express Betting Prediction

It is a game that might have massive ramifications for the title race, but do you really believe Thomas Tuchel's side can overcome the relentless Bayer Leverkusen title push?

The Bavarians know they need to win, but Leverkusen only need to not lose to hold their advantage.

It might look like a Bayern Munich victory looking at how they have managed to win matches where they were simply not in control, but Bayer Leverkusen’s entire system seems far too competent to go an entire game unrewarded.

Spooky Express Free Play 1: Over 3.5 Goals +125 at Everygame for 5/10 Units

Spooky Express Free Play 2: Anytime Goalscorer - Harry Kane +105 at Everygame for 5/10 Units

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