It's first vs second in the Bundesliga this weekend as Bayer Leverkusen welcome Bayern Munich to the BayArena on Sunday in what looks to be an enthralling and fiery encounter.

Leverkusen come into this match on the back of a comfortable four-goal demolition of Armina Bielefeld. It means they find themselves sitting second in the Bundesliga level on points with Bayern.

If Leverkusen were to win on Sunday afternoon against the defending champions not only would it be a hammer blow to Bayern, but they would also lead the Bundesliga, and with a match against FC Köln next matchday they could consolidate their place at the top of the table.

Meanwhile, Bayern will come into the match on Sunday having suffered a disastrous and humiliating two-goal to one defeat at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, which has put their lead at the top of the table under pressure.

If Bayern can bounce back straight away by beating Leverkusen on Sunday, not only would they potentially beat a title rival this season, but they would maintain their perch at the top of the Bundesliga. In addition with matches against Hoffenheim and Union Berlin before the next international break, Bayern will feel they can build some momentum starting this Sunday.

Team news

Leverkusen boss Gerardo Seoane has got three major injury concerns ahead of the visit from Bayern. Robert Andrich, Julian Baumgartlinger, and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are all set to miss out, while Florian Wirtz should keep his place following his brilliant start to the season.

Julian Nagelsmann has got three players that could miss out. Defender Benjamin Pavard and backup goalkeeper Sven Ulreich are both injured while Kingsley Coman could also miss the due to a lack of match fitness.

Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky, Frimpong, Kossounou, Tah, Bakker, Aranguiz, Demiraby, Adli, Wirtz, Diaby, Schick

Bayern Munich: Neuer, Davies, Süle, Upamecano, Hernandez, Kimmich, Goretzka, Muller, Gnabry, Muller, Sane, Lewandowski

Players to watch

Florian Wirtz

After making his debut at just 17 years old last season Florian Wirtz has quickly established himself as a key player for Leverkusen. He has had a blistering start to the season having scored, assisted, or both in Leverkusen's opening eight matches.

His Form had meant he was awarded the player of the month award for September. Wirtz was also involved with the German national team during the international break including getting an assist against North Macedonia.

Leverkusen will hope Wirtz continues his brilliant form and is able to unlock a very secure Bayern defence.

Thomas Muller

Despite being 32 years old now, Thomas Muller is still a crucial player for Bayern and while it's normally Robert Lewandowski who gets the headlines Muller is vital for Bayern and the role he plays. As well as scoring and assisting goals his attacking runs from deep into the box are a big part of how Bayern play.

After scoring 11 goals and assisting 21 goals in just 31 matches last season Muller has started this season brilliantly having already scored two goals and assisted four in seven matches. Muller also scored and recorded two assists in the latest round of world cup qualifiers.

Bayern will hope Muller will be able to cause havoc for the Leverkusen defence on Sunday.

Last time out

The last time these two faced each other Bayern came out two-nil winners.

Both teams started the match quickly creating many chances and in the seventh minute, Bayern got their first. Thomas Muller received the ball from David Alaba before shooting it towards the bottom right-hand corner but the keeper saved it, however, the ball fell to Eric Choupo-Moting who smashed into the top right-hand corner from close range.

Bayern asserted their dominance by getting a second goal just four minutes later. Joshua Kimmich received the ball in the Leverkusen box and made space for himself before shooting the ball into the bottom left-hand corner giving the Leverkusen goalkeeper no chance.

Leverkusen created their first big chance in the 21st minute. Patrik Schick received the ball from Leon Bailey before unleashing a thunderous shot towards the bottom left-hand corner however Manuel Neuer saved it.

Bayern dominated the rest of the first half however were not clinical and as a result, Leverkusen went into half-time only two goals down.

In order to try and change their fortunes, Leverkusen made two changes at half-time, however, it did not have a big impact as Bayern kept creating chances, Leverkusen only got their first chance in the 69th minute however Karim Bellarabi failed to convert.

Nadiem Amiri had two chances late on to try and get Leverkusen on the scoresheet but he couldn't convert either of them meaning Leverkusen lost the match and had no answer to a rampant Bayern team.

How to watch

Fans in the UK can watch the match via the Sky Sports app while fans in the US can watch the match on ESPN+.

 

 

 

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