Bayern must beat Leipzig to capitalise on Dortmund’s slip-up
By Matt Addison
Bayern Munich have been behind in the title race from the start, but have the chance to gain ground after a Borussia Dortmund slip-up.
After Borussia Dortmund’s shock 2-1 defeat against Fortuna Dusseldorf on Tuesday evening — their first league loss of the season so far — Bayern Munich find themselves nine points behind in the Bundesliga title race but with a game in hand over the leaders.
The reigning champions are under big pressure when they host Ralf Rangnick’s RB Leipzig on Wednesday, in what is a must-win game to go into the winter break with some hope of keeping pace at the top.
A gap of just six points, with Dortmund facing tricky Borussia Monchengladbach next, and all of a sudden, Bayern are back in the Bundesliga picture.
Leipzig, meanwhile, could leapfrog Bayern by winning the game and are being chased down by Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim, so need to continue collecting points to evade the grasp of those other sides chasing Champions League football next season.
Key battles
Joshua Kimmich has been in excellent form recently, switching between right-back and holding midfield, and he could prove decisive in Niko Kovac’s plans.
In the centre of the pitch, he could line up against Kevin Kampl, Marcel Sabitzer and Diego Demme, the Leipzig trio; alternatively, should Kimmich play as part of the back-four, Thiago Alcantara and Leon Goretzka will be a midfield duo with Thomas Muller in the number 10 role.
Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry are the favourites to start out wide, but perhaps Franck Ribery could also enter the equation. Ribery has just one league goal in 12 appearances this season, but the Frenchman’s class still remains.
Timo Werner has 10 goals this season for Leipzig, while Yussuf Poulsen scored twice last time out against Mainz; two of Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Niklas Sule will have to be on top form to keep those two quiet.
Jean-Kevin Augustin, Matheus Cunha and Bruma are likely to be named on the bench and might be called upon to change the game for Leipzig, while Bayern have much more depth, able to call on those already mentioned who miss out on starting, plus the likes of Sandro Wagner and Rafinha.
Previous meetings
Leipzig have only been in the Bundesliga for the last two seasons, so there is little past evidence of what to expect between the two teams.
Last season, Bayern won 2-0 at the Allianz Arena with Leipzig centre-back Willi Orban sent off after a VAR review after just 13 minutes, before first-half goals from James Rodriguez and Robert Lewandowski sealed the points.
Leipzig won 2-1 at the Red Bull Arena with Naby Keita the star of the show, scoring once and assisting another, after Sandro Wagner had put the visitors in front.
Bayern also won in the DFB Pokal, but only on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
In Leipzig’s only other top-flight season, in 2016-17, Bayern won 3-0 at home and 4-5 away. Leipzig were 4-2 up in the dramatic second game, before three goals in the final minutes from Lewandowski, David Alaba and Arjen Robben turned the match around.
Anything like that would be a treat for neutrals – but a win of any kind is all Bayern desire.