Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen: DFB Pokal Preview and Predictions

On Tuesday night, the Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich will face off against German champions Bayer Leverkusen in a match that will determine whether the side advances to the quarterfinals of the DFB-Pokal.

With a nine-point lead in the league, Bayern will welcome the cup holders to Bavaria.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

Jamal Musiala scored a late goal to rescue a point for Bayern Munich against old opponents Borussia Dortmund in the 136th edition of Der Klassiker. This came just before Bayern Munich faced their high-profile cup rivals from the previous season.

Thanks to his intervention, Bayern could maintain their perfect Bundesliga away record. However, they did stop a winning streak of seven matches in all competitions, during which they scored eighteen goals and kept seven clean sheets.

Kim Min-jae scored a first-half header to help Vincent Kompany’s team defeat 10-man Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. With three games left, they are just one point off the top eight and lead the Bundesliga by six points.

The Red Bulls are focusing on the DFB-Pokal again after recent 4-0 victories over Ulm and Mainz. They have won the trophy at least 20 times.

They will be more motivated to go beyond the round of 16 this time around since, almost unbelievably for Germany’s most successful team, their last victory was in 2020.

With their recent record of four straight victories against Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen can go to Bavaria free of any sense of inferiority.

Last season, Die Werkself beat Bayern to win the championship. This year, they finished their domestic campaign undefeated and won the DFB-Pokal by defeating underdogs Kaiserslautern in the final. But in seven prior cup matches, Leverkusen has only once eliminated FCB, a 4-2 home quarterfinal victory in 2009.

Xabi Alonso’s squad started the season well, defeating Carl Zeiss Jena in August. They cruised to a 3-0 win against Elversberg in the second round.

As a team, Leverkusen has an impressive record of scoring in all 34 of their DFB-Pokal away matches. The last time they didn’t score in a German Cup game was in 2015 when they played to a scoreless draw with Bayern before losing on penalties.

Before facing Tuesday’s opponents, Alonso and company swept the Champions League with a 5-0 thrashing of Red Bull Salzburg, moving them up the standings, and narrowly defeated Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.

The defending champions won 2-1 thanks to a goal from Patrik Schick in the second half, but they are now nine points and three spots behind Bayern with eleven games remaining.

Bayern Munich x Bayer Leverkusen Team News

Bayern Munich will miss their star striker Harry Kane on Tuesday due to a mild strain of his hamstring, which he picked up after being substituted for after having treatment in the first half of Der Klassiker.

Thomas Muller or Mathys Tel, who may provide a completely different focal point for Bayern’s assault, could replace Kane, who became the quickest player in Bundesliga history to achieve 50 goals last month.

In addition to Sven Ulreich, Joao Palhinha, Hiroki Ito, and Josip Stanisic, midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic is back in training following a shoulder procedure.

Meanwhile, injury has sidelined Jonas Hofmann, Martin Terrier, Jeanuel Belocian, Amine Adli, and Victor Boniface, so Leverkusen is short-handed.

Berlin saw Patrick Schick start up front in Boniface’s absence, with young Ukrainian Artem Stepanov serving as a wildcard substitute. Stepanov earned his senior debut in the Champions League not long ago.

With Robert Andrich, Aleix Garcia, and captain Granit Xhaka forming a midfield trio, Florian Wirtz should start again at Allianz Arena.

Our Predictions

Bayern Munich to win @ 1.76 on Sky247.ng

Despite playing to a tie in their September meeting, Bayern Munich seem destined to dethrone Leverkusen this season.

The hosts have been outstanding defensively and offensively, whereas Xabi Alonso’s squad could have been stronger at this time last year.

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