Preview: Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig

An exciting encounter will kick off this weekend’s round of fixtures as Bayern Munich welcome RB Leipzig to the Allianz Arena on Friday.

Vincent Kompany’s side continue to occupy top spot in the Bundesliga as they currently sit on 33 points and are four points clear of second placed Bayer Leverkusen.

However last week they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat against Mainz as Leverkusen closed the gap at the top by beating Augsburg 2-0.

This defeat for Bayern finally put an end to their unbeaten domestic season but they now have a chance to put the pressure back on Leverkusen and extend their lead at the top with a win.

RB Leipzig bounced back in style after losing in the Champions League against Aston Villa and being eliminated from the competition, with an impressive victory against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga last Saturday.  

They now sit in fourth place with 27 points and are now just six points behind Bayern Munich.

The future of manager Marco Rose is in doubt however, with reports stating that the club will decide his future in the upcoming winter break.

Rose’s side have won three of their last four matches but did however lose five and draw one in the six previous matches.

Leipzig stand in a positive position in the table now and could move up to second place with a win on Friday.

Team News

Bayern have been dealing with a number of injuries as defenders Josip Stanisic, Sacha Boey and Hiroki Ito will miss this fixture.

Also missing the game will be goalkeeper Manuel Neuer who looks to be out until January.

Joao Palhinha also remains out injured as well as wingers Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman.

The positive news for Bayern is that Harry Kane trained again today and is likely to play a part in the match, but it is unsure whether this will be from the start or not.

Leipzig will be without midfielders Amadou Haidara, Eljif Elmas and Forzan Assan Ouedraogo due to injury as well as defender Castello Lukeba who will be out until February 2025.

Xavi Simons and Yussuf Poulsen are still working on their comebacks and will also miss this fixture.

Kevin Kampl has had to reduce his workload due to muscular problems but a decision will be made on his availability after final training.

GGFN | Matthew Gritton