Bayern Munich had their first jittery moment in a game after several weeks when they played away at FC Koln in the second round of DFB Pokal on Tuesday. The Bavarian club was down 1-0 after 30 minutes. However, they respond to this setback in the best possible way and returned home with a 4-1 victory.
Courtesy of the win in Koln, Bayern made it 14 consecutive wins since the start of the season. They have shown no signs of slowing down under Vincent Kompany. Die Roten will look to add another win to their tally when they host Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
After a dismal start to the season under Erik Ten Hag, Bayer Leverkusen have recovered well under new head coach Kasper Hjulmand. They are unbeaten in their last five Bundesliga games, winning four fixtures and sharing points in one game. Despite their good run of form in the Bundesliga, Leverkusen face a daunting task of getting a positive result at Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Team News
Josip Stanisic returned to the team during the clash against Koln on Wednesday. Kompany will hope the Croatian stays away from injuries since he can play in multiple positions. Die Roten didn’t have fresh injury concerns from the DFB Pokal clash.
Hiroki Ito has done some parts of first team training this week, but there is still time for him to return to the matchday squad. Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies will miss the game on Saturday as they move in the correct direction in their recovery from serious injuries.
Predicted Starting XI
Manuel Neuer will return to the starting XI after Jonas Urbig played in the last two games. Bayern wanted Urbig to get game time before the DFB Pokal clash against Koln. Normality resumes on Saturday as Neuer will look to add another clean sheet to his tally for this season.
Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah will be starting in the heart of defense against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. Tah will be facing his former club for the first time since joining Bayern in the summer. Konrad Laimer and Josip Stanisic will slot in the right-back and left-back positions, respectively.
Aleksandar Pavlovic is currently ahead of Leon Goretzka in the pecking order after delivering impressive performances over the last week. The youngster will play alongside Joshua Kimmich in the center of the park against Leverkusen.
The selection in the attack is straightforward for Vincent Kompany. Luis Diaz and Michael Olise will operate on the flanks, while Serge Gnabry will be deployed in the number ten position. Harry Kane will lead the line for the defending champions as he looks to continue his red-hot goalscoring form.
Predicted Starting XI- Neuer; Stanisic, Tah, Upamecano, Laimer; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Diaz, Gnabry, Olise; Kane
Score Prediction
Bayern Munich 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Bayern have been swatting teams aside this season with ease. It is difficult for teams to stop them from scoring. Bayer Leverkusen will struggle to cope with the irresistible attacking quartet of Die Roten. The visitors will score a goal, but Bayern will run away with a comfortable win.