Bayer Leverkusen host Bayern Munich in a match that could decide the title this season. Leverkusen will lose almost all chances to defend their title from last season if they lose this match.
If we talk about lost games, Bayer Leverkusen have been almost flawless this season. They only conceded one loss in 21 rounds, just as many as Bayern Munich. However, the difference comes in the draws, with Leverkusen having four more and therefore being a full eight points behind the Bavarians.
If Leverkusen lose, Bayern will move up 11 points with just 12 rounds remaining after this one. If they win, the gap will drop to five points and their chances will remain. Considering the hosts managed to knock the visitors out of the DFB Pokal earlier in the season, they have a real chance of success here. But that will be impossible if they come out and play like they did in the game against Wolfsburg a week ago (0-0).
Barring the still-shocking loss to Feyenoord in the Champions League, Bayern Munich are absolutely fantastic right now. They won 13 of their last 15 matches in all competitions and scored at least two goals in 12 of those victories. The fact is that they played a tough game against Celtic during the week while Leverkusen had time to rest, but that's the price of success and the Bavarians can't afford a poor performance.
How the bookies view it: Leverkusen have a chance
This is one of the rare occasions you will see close odds in a match involving Bayern Munich. Such odds are only possible in a match against Bayer Leverkusen. You can pick the home side at 2/1, the draw at 13/5 and the away win at 5/4.
Recent head to head: One-sided but not in favour of the team you expect
No other team in the Bundesliga has performed as well against Bayern Munich as Bayer Leverkusen. The hosts have not lost to the Bavarians in five consecutive games, managing to win three of them. The fact is that Bayern Munich have a significant advantage historically, but in recent years they have had serious problems in these clashes.
Players to watch: Palacios loves scoring penalties against Bayern Munich
Everyone is aware of who the big stars of both teams are and who the classic choices for goalscorers are. In this case, however, we'll focus on a much more interesting player, namely Exequiel Palacios. The Argentine is not the typical goalscorer and scores 4-5 goals a season, most of them from penalty kicks. In the last two seasons, he happened to score three against Bayern. Penalty kicks are a frequent factor in their H2Hs and Palacios may get a direct opportunity to score again.
Probable line-ups
Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky, Hincapie, Tapsoba, Tah, Mukiele, Grimaldo, Palacios, Xhaka, Frimpong, Wirtz, Boniface
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro, Pavlovic, Kimmich, Sane, Musiala, Olise, Kane
Anything else catch the eye?
Most H2Hs over the years have delighted us with plenty of goals, and in most cases, we see something from both teams. But over the last two or three seasons, the Bavarians have had some pretty poor performances against Leverkusen, including failing to score on two of the last three occasions. But now, they are in exceptional form and we don't believe this could happen again. Both teams to score sounds like the best prediction at the moment.
Apart from that, we are going to take our chances with the cards because this is the most important game of the season for both sides, as it could decide the title fight. We saw a considerable number of cards in the last five H2Hs between the two teams (8, 5, 5, 4, 5) and this will be our second prediction.
This German Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich will be played on Feb 15, 2025 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.
