Fourth-placed RB Leipzig will look to maintain their great start in the new season when they host league leaders Bayern Munich.
RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich have made it to the second round of the DFB-Pokal thanks to their respective wins in midweek. Now, they will shift their attention towards a high-voltage fixture in the Bundesliga. Both clubs have had a great start to the new season and will look to build on it with a win in their encounter.
Leipzig are on a five-match winning streak and will look to make it six in a row when they host Bayern Munich. As far as the league is concerned, the home team have won four out of their five games and are fourth on the points table with 12 points to their name.
Their only loss of the new season came against Bayer Leverkusen. Marco Rose’s men will be eager to get all three points against the league leaders and establish themselves as title contenders. They are heading into this encounter on the back of a 3-2 win in the DFB-Pokal first round and will look to build on it.
Bayern Munich are unbeaten in the league so far, and they are sitting comfortably at the top of the table with 13 points out of their first five outings. Their only draw came against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen. The German champions have scored 15 goals in their last three outings in all competitions and stopping them will be a huge task for the home team.
The visitors are heading into this encounter on the back of a 4-0 win in the DFB-Pokal first round and they will look to build on this result. The team in red are well aware of the fact that if they fail to win this game, they might lose out on the top spot in the league. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
RB Leipzig
The home team will be without the services of Willi Orban, Dani Olmo, Amadou Haidara, and El Chadaille Bitshiabu. While there are quite a few players unavailable, Marco Rose still has a quality lot to choose from and he is expected to go ahead with the 4-4-2 formation, where Janis Blaswich will be in goal.
Benjamin Henrichs and David Raum will start out wide on the flanks. The duo will look to join the attack at times but their priority will be to support the likes of Mohamed Simakan and Castello Lukeba, who is starting in the heart of the defence.
Marco Rose on @xavisimons
🗣️ "Xavi is an extremely important player for us in every aspect of our game. He's a leader, he's got a great attitude and a real desire to win. Of course, he also has the quality to beat defenders, carry the ball forward, get assists and score goals,… pic.twitter.com/zqYh7lMQfz
— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) September 29, 2023
As far as the centre of the park is concerned, Xavi Simons and Fabio Carvalho will take care of the wide areas. They will look to stretch the opposition defence but might have to double up along with their full-backs to ensure they don’t allow Bayern wide players to dominate the game.
Xaver Schlager will pair up with Kevin Kampl in a more central role. The duo will look to dictate the pace of this game. Benjamin Sesko has been in sensational form of late, and he will start alongside Lois Openda in attack.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Blaswich; Henrichs, Simakan, Lukeba, Raum; Simons, Schlager, Kampl, Carvalho; Sesko, Openda
Bayern Munich
The visitors will be without the services of Tarek Buchmann, Gabriel Marusic, and Manuel Neuer. Apart from the three, there are doubts about the availability of Serge Gnabry, who suffered a blow to his hand in their last outing.
🗣️ Thomas Tuchel ahead of #RBLFCB:
"Dayot Upamecano, Minjae Kim and Thomas Müller all trained yesterday and all came out feeling good. If everything stays the same, then they will be able to be part of the squad." #packmas
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) September 29, 2023
Thomas Tuchel has enough depth in his ranks to field a strong enough squad that can go past Leipzig. The former Chelsea boss is expected to go ahead with the 4-2-3-1 formation, where Sven Ulreich will be in goal.
Noussair Mazraoui and Alphonso Davies will be the full-backs in this high-voltage fixture. The duo will look to join the attack and put pressure on the opposition’s wide players. In the heart of the defence, we could see former Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt pair up with summer signing Kim Min-jae.
The double pivot in the centre of the park will be formed by Konrad Laimer and Joshua Kimmich. The duo will have to be at their A game in order to ensure Bayern dictates the pace of this game. If they fail to get going Leipzig might end up dominating the proceedings.
Thomas Muller will feature as an attacking midfielder while Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala will start out wide on the flanks. And, England international Harry Kane who has got off to a great start in Germany will be leading the line for them.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ulreich; Mazraoui, de Ligt, Kim, Davies; Laimer, Kimmich; Sane, Muller, Musiala; Kane
Key Stats
- Bayern Munich have the best attack in the league with 18 goals to their name so far.
- The visitors have won ten out of their 18 games against RB Leipzig.
- RB Leipzig have won their last two outings against Bayern Munich in all competitions.
- Bayern Munich are unbeaten in their last six away games against RB Leipzig.
Player to Watch
Xavi Simons
Simons has made a great start to life in Germany. The 20-year-old sensation has taken the Bundesliga by storm. He has featured in a total of just five matches for RB Leipzig and has managed to contribute towards seven goals.
The former Barcelona academy ace has scored three goals and has four assists to his name. The Dutch international is expected to play a vital role in this fixture and he could end up being the difference between the two teams.
Prediction
RB Leipzig 2-1 Bayern Munich
Both teams are heading into this fixture in form, as they have both made a great start to the new season. So RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich will be eager to continue in a similar fashion when they square up against each other.
Bayern will have the upper hand heading into this fixture, as they are top of the league and have not lost a match yet and have scored 15 goals. While Leipzig won’t be out-and-out favourites, they do have enough in their tank to cause an upset and The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for the home team.
