Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen 15/09/18

15 September 2018

The undisputed Bundesliga holders Bayern Munich prepare to take on Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena, with the visitors desperately trying to find the way out of a severe crisis.

The Bavarians have started the defending campaign with a routine 3-1 victory over TSG Hoffenheim at home, after which they’ve comfortably outplayed Stuttgart on the road, securing a 3-0 win that propelled them to the top of the table. Niko Kovac has already won his first title in the new club thanks to an astonishing 5-0 triumph over his old employers Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Super Cup Final. Additionally, Die Roten also defeated Hamburger SV and Chicago Fire in friendly encounters, scoring eight goals while conceding one in the process.

As for the visitors, Heiko Herrlich is experiencing all sorts of trouble since the start of the season as the Company XI already sustained two failures in the opening two fixtures, losing 2-0 to Borussia Monchengladbach on the road and allowing Wolfsburg to walk away from the BayArena with all three points. The only Leverkusen’s victory this year was the one against FC Pforzheim in the DFB Pokal first round, and Herrlich will have to make some radical changes if he wants to remain on the bench in due course.

After suffering a nasty looking injury against Hoffenheim, Kingsley Coman won’t be able to help his teammates for at least few more weeks, while Julian Baumgartlinger, Joel Pohjanpalo, and Panagiotis Retsos are all expected to remain on the sidelines for the visitors.