It is first against second as leaders Bayer Leverkusen battle champions Bayern Munich in a Friday night Bundesliga fixture. Both teams have been excellent going forward this season and given their penchant for open attacking football, a high scoring encounter could be on the cards.
Bayer Leverkusen are showing no signs of slowing down as they still remain unbeaten across all competitions this season. They continue to keep champions Bayern Munich at bay, sitting two points clear at the top of the standings.
Xabi Alonso’s men picked up a 2-0 victory at Darmstadt in their previous Bundesliga fixture with Nathan Tella netting a brace. They followed that up with a 3-2 over Stuttgart in a midweek DFB Pokal clash.
Even in the absence of injured striker Victor Boniface, the goals have continued to flow foe Bayer Leverkusen. The likes of Nathan Tella and Patrik Schick have caught the eye while they have also brought in Borja Iglesias from Real Betis to bolster their attack.
Bayern Munich have not been their usual dominant selves this season and are in the unfamiliar position of playing catch-up in the Bundesliga. The good news is that they are only two points off the pace and could go top with a win on Saturday.
The Bavarians travel to the BayArena with four wins from their last five Bundesliga matches. They claimed a 3-1 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach last time out with Aleksandar Pavlovic, Harry Kane and Matthijs de Ligt getting the goals.
Like Bayer Leverkusen, goals have been no problem for Bayern Munich with Harry Kane still leading the line. However, Thomas Tuchel’s men have struggled to maintain their discipline at the back, conceding eight goals in their last three away matches.
How the bookies view it
The bookies are anticipating a closely fought encounter with a win for Bayer Leverkusen priced at 7/4 with bet365 while Betfred is offering 6/4 for a Bayern Munich victory. A draw is set at odds of 14/5 by William Hill.
Head to head
Bayern Munich have a 56-20 advantage with 18 draws from 94 previous matches against Bayer Leverkusen. However, both teams played out a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture back in September with Leverkusen salvaging a point with a late penalty from Ezequiel Palacios.
Players to watch
Nathan Tella appears to have stepped up in the absence of Victor Boniface with three goals in the last three Bundesliga matches. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to maintain his scoring run at 10/3 with BetVictor.
Harry Kane continues to deliver the goods for Bayern Munich and now has 24 Bundesliga goals this season. The striker was also on target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 23/20 by Unibet to get on the score sheet once again.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given the attacking quality on both sides, goals can be expected here. Bayern Munich saw over 4.5 goals in their previous away fixture and a repeat is priced at 3/1 with bet365, who is also offering odds of 13/10 on over 3.5 goals.
There were second half goals for both teams in the reverse fixture and Saturday’s clash could be set to follow a similar pattern at 6/4 with William Hill.
This German Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich will be played on Feb 10, 2024 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
