An early table topper clash in the Bundesliga unfolds this weekend with Leverkusen welcoming Bayern at their arena. Bundesliga's two most ferocious attacking sides this season are only separated by goal difference with holders Bayern leading at the top. Both are on 16 points playing seven games.
Match Details :
When: Sunday, October 17
Timings: 15:30 (local)/ 19:00 (IST)
Where: BayArena, Leverkusen
LEV vs MUN Match Preview :
Leverkusen has been a brilliant side to watch under the new manager, Gerardo Seoane. Upon arriving from Young Boys in the summer, he implemented a high pressing attacking style football that suited the club from the eastern bank of the Rhine. With only a solitary defeat in a 4-3 classic against Borussia Dortmund, the black and reds have registered eight wins out of 10 in all competitions since the beginning of the campaign. Seoane is also managing a talent-filled Leverkusen squad. The incredible 18-year-old sensation, Florian Wirtz has risen to the occasion with nine-goal contributions, four goals & five assists, in just six Bundesliga appearances making him a future star in making and a transfer target. Moussa Diaby has also been active with four goals alongside Patrick Schick with six strikes so far, the Czech being one of the top scorers in Bundesliga this season. Leverkusen are the second-best scoring side in the league, behind opposition Bayern, with 20 goals and only conceded 7 goals meaning they are equally solid at the back.
Records are pertaining with Bayern too. After all, they are the kings of the nation for the last nine seasons. However, their recent winning record suddenly stumbled in the hands of a struggling Eintracht Frankfurt side. The defeat just before the international break was the first Nagelsmann suffered as Bayern boss after he took the hot seat in the summer. The champions created a lot of chances staying true to their nature but the lack of finishing eluded them with Kevin Trapp making his career-high ten saves in a single Bundesliga game. Leon Goretzka scored the opener just before the hour mark but set-piece specialist Martin Hintereggar nodded in the equaliser before Filip Kostic netting the winner with seven minutes left to play. Nagelsmann will be hoping that this is a small hiccup to their otherwise successful start to the campaign and refined their rhythm in this decisive fixture. Robert Lewandowski is poised to get back on the scoresheet again after his scoring streak in 19 consecutive games ended two games ago.
Recent Form (Last 5 all competition) :
Bayer Leverkusen: WWWWW
Bayern Munich: LWWWW
LEV vs MUN Team News :
There are some suspension crises for either side to deal with for this fixture. There are also no fresh injuries from the international break. Leverkusen will be without midfielder Robert Andrich as he serves his final match ban of a three-game suspension following his red card against Stuttgart last month. Two long-term absentees in the form of Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Julian Baumgartlinger are the other candidates not featuring on Sunday. However, star left-back Michel Bakkar will return back to the starting eleven after his recent injury absence for Leverkusen.
For Bayern, Benjamin Pavard will serve his second of his three-match ban due to the red card he received in the win at Furth. There are several candidates to replace him in the right-back role. Josip Stanisic and Bouna Sarr are natural right-backs but it is expected Nikolas Sule will once again fill himself up in that role to aid Nagelsmann's tactics. Only second-string keeper Sven Ulreich and Kingsley Coman will be unavailable this weekend. The Frenchman is a doubt due to his match fitness concerns being in the progress on the return from his heart surgery.
Predicted Lineup :
Bayer Leverkusen: Lukas Hradecky; Jeremy Frimpong, Odilon Kossounou, Jonathan Tah, Michel Bakker, Charles Aranguiz, Kevin Demirbay, Karim Bellarabi, Florian Wirtz, Moussa Diaby, Patrick Schick
Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer, Niklas Sule, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Hernandez, Alphonso Davies, Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane, Robert Lewandowski
Head to Head :
Leverkusen's recent record against Bayern Munich have been poor with losses in the last four encounters and just two victories in 14 such outings. The frustrating thing for the home side will be that they haven't won their last two games at the venue even after taking the lead against Bayern. In the last meeting at BayArena, a last-minute winner from none other than Robert Lewandowski seal the deal for the Bavarians after also netting in the equalizer in the first half to cancel out Patrick Schick's opener.
LEV vs BAY Dream11 Team Predictions:
Dream11 team suggestion 1 : If Lewandowski is the choice upfront
GK: Neuer (BAY)
DEF: Frimpong (LEV), Sule (BAY), Tah (BAY), Davies (BAY)
MID: Goretzka (BAY), Kimmich (BAY), Diaby (LEV), Wirtz (LEV), Sane (BAY)
FW: Lewandowski (BAY)
Dream11 team suggestion 2 : If Schick is the choice upfront
GK: Neuer (BAY)
DEF: Frimpong (LEV), Sule (BAY), Tah (BAY), Davies (BAY)
MID: Goretzka (BAY), Kimmich (BAY), Diaby (LEV), Wirtz (LEV), Sane (BAY)
FW: Schick (LEV)
Match Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Bayern Munich
Two festive sides are on display this Sunday with an early title decider on the cards. This game can spiral into anyways taking into account these two clubs have looked polished so far into the campaign. The fixture can turn into an exciting draw or drown everyone's expectation in what kind possible. But a Bayern victory looks to be on the cards despite their defeat in the last game. Nagelsmann's men struggled against high-pressing counterparts but their quality on the pitch seems to defy every challenge on their way so it will be a tough outing for Leverkusen who will be nevertheless a brilliant side on the day.
