Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen: Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

On Saturday, champions Bayer Leverkusen will play Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena in what could be a pivotal encounter in the Bundesliga title battle.

With 12 points after four league games under manager Vincent Kompany's watch, the hosts are in first place, while the visitors sit in second, having won three of their four matches in the top level.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

After Bayern's impressive start to the 2024-25 season, any concerns regarding Kompany's ability to contend for the title in his first season as manager appear to have been alleviated.

The Bavarians have a perfect record this season, winning all six competitive matches. Their most recent victory was a 5-0 thrashing of Werder Bremen on September 21.

In addition to Michael Olise's two goals and two assists, Harry Kane kept up his impressive form with a single goal and two assists.

On September 17, Bayern defeated Dinamo Zagreb 9-2; in that game, Kane scored four goals, passing Wayne Rooney for the most goals scored by an Englishman in Champions League history.

With 29 goals in their first six games of the season, Kompany's squad has scored 20 times in their past three competitive games.

Among the 18 clubs competing in the Bundesliga, Bayern has created the fourth-most scoring opportunities (16 goals), which is surprising given that their actual goal total is almost six more than their predicted goal total.

Our opponents, Bayer Leverkusen, have had a lukewarm season thus far, winning six of their seven league games while conceding eleven goals.

On September 22, Wolfsburg scored three goals against Xabi Alonso's squad; Alonso's men triumphed only in the 93rd minute when Victor Boniface scored the game-winning goal.

Last season, Leverkusen scored 0.71 goals per game in the Bundesliga. This term, they're scoring 2.25 goals per game.

Granit Xhaka, a midfielder for the 2024–25 Swiss national team, stated that the team's lackluster defensive performances were due to a lack of aggression without the ball and an excessive amount of space opponents could exploit.

Alonso made similar remarks following his team's victory over Wolfsburg, stating that his squad's performance is excessively offensively and defensively chaotic.

In their last 38 league games, Leverkusen have won 31, drawn 6, and lost just one. In their last 19 road matches, they have also won 16, drawn 3, and lost one. They will bring that winning mentality into this encounter.

Bayern Munich x Bayer Leverkusen Team News

Bayern Munich will be without defenders Hiroki Ito and Josip Stanisic until October and November, respectively. Right back, Sacha Boey is expected to return in December.

Moving ahead, Goalkeeper Daniel Peretz will probably be out for a few more days, but Arijon Ibrahimovic should be back early next month.

Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-Jae, and Alphonso Davies might form a defensive quartet to prevent Manuel Neuer from regaining his starting position.

Kompany might not want to shake up Joshua Kimmich's rhythm by pairing him with someone fresh in the middle of the field, especially since Aleksandar Pavlovic has been playing with him for the past two games.

Alonso should have a healthy roster to select from, along with Bayer Leverkusen, who is not worried about injuries.

Xhaka will start in the middle of the field, but given the team's recent defensive struggles, it wouldn't be shocking if Exequiel Palacios started instead of Aleix Garcia.

On Saturday, Nordi Mukiele will be benched, and Patrik Schick will start at striker Boniface, while wing-back Jeremie Frimpong will return to the lineup.

Florian Wirtz, an attacker for Leverkusen, has scored four goals in his past three outings; Alonso hopes to keep up his impressive form.

Our predictions

Bayern Munich to win and over 3.5 goals @ 2.80 on Sky247.ng

Given Leverkusen's defensive frailties this season, Bayern, which has been superb offensively, may generate many scoring chances.

Alonso's team has been impressive offensively as of late, but even with Wirtz and Boniface scoring, it's hard to imagine them coming out on top against Bayern on Saturday.

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