Bayern Munich play host to Bayer Leverkusen as both teams look to end their poor run of form.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side go into this game having lost 1-0 away to Augsburg. Bayern had once again dominated the game against their Bavarian rivals but struggled in front of goal, questioning whether they are missing Robert Lewandowski. Mergim Berisha would then score his first goal for Augsburg which proved to be the only goal of the game. Some Rafał Gikiewicz heroics were needed at the end of the game to stop a Manuel Neuer header. This result has left Bayern fifth in the Bundesliga, five points behind leaders Union Berlin, with the Rekordmeister having not won in the Bundesliga since beating Bochum 7-0 on August 21.
Bayer Leverkusen also find themselves in poor form. In the previous matchday they drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen. Karim Demirbay opened the scoring for Leverkusen with an effort from the edge of the box. They would then fall to the late goal specialists in Werder Bremen as in the 82nd minute, Milos Veljkovic pounced on a Lukas Hradecky mistake to equalise for Bremen. Leverkusen find themselves in 15th and level on points with Stuttgart and Wolfsburg, who occupy the relegation playoff and an automatic relegation spot. B04’s only win this season came in a 3-0 win at Mainz.
Bayern will be hoping they can find their goalscoring boots against a poor Leverkusen defence as in the Champions League the Bavarians have shown what they are capable of, but seemingly go blank in the league. While Gerardo Seaone will be hoping he can reignite the type of football Leverkusen played last season which saw them finish third.
In the meetings last season, Bayern won the first game away at the BayArena 5-1 where they completely dismantled Leverkusen in the first half. The return game saw a 1-1 draw at the Allianz.
Predicted Lineups:
Bayern Munich:
Neuer – Pavard, Upamecano, De Ligt, Davies – Kimmich, Goretzka – Musiala, Sané – Müller, Mané
Bayer Leverkusen:
Hradecky – Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba – Frimpong, Andrich, Demirbay, Hincapié – Diaby, Hudson-Odoi – Schick
GGFN | Jack Meenan
