Bayern just need to keep the second leg under control.
Match Info
Location: BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany
Date: Tuesday, March 11th, 2025
Time: 9:00 pm local time, 4:00 pm EST
TV/streaming: Paramount Plus, Find Your Country
Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen will square off for the fifth time in the third competition this campaign. Bayern Munich dominated the first leg with a 3-0 win at the Allianz Arena and will have full control of the second leg until Leverkusen scores at least two goals. Leverkusen has only managed two goals against Bayern this season in the four meetings.
Both Bundesliga matches ended in a draw and Leverkusen knocked out Bayern in the DFB-Pokal. Since Alonso took over the managerial duties at Leverkusen, Bayern failed to beat them in the first six attempts before getting over the hump last week. Bayern will need to maintain its focus and avoid looking ahead to playing against the winner of the Feyenoord-Inter Milan series. Inter Milan currently holds a 2-0 lead after the first leg.
Bayern is currently in first place of the Bundesliga, eight points clear of Leverkusen. Leverkusen finished the Champions League group stage in sixth place, avoiding the elimination round that saw Bayern skirt by Celtic. Leverkusen is also the clear favorite headed into the DFB-Pokal semifinal.
Team news
Here is the predicted lineup, courtesy of kicker:
Bayern’s expected lineup on Tuesday [@kicker] pic.twitter.com/4wlx2gUHRu
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) March 9, 2025
This is basically the same starting XI that Vincent Kompany used last week. The only change is Jonas Urbig replacing Manuel Neuer after Neuer pulled a muscle during a mid-game celebration.
There’s no other takeaway from the last match: Bayern bullied Leverkusen for 90 minutes. Bayern was already ahead 2-0 in the 62nd minute when Nordi Mukiele was sent off with a double yellow card.
The biggest news is the injury status of Florian Wirtz. The number one priority on Bayern’s transfer list this offseason, Wirtz subbed off at halftime and left the stadium on crutches after sustaining a right foot injury. Down 3-0 and missing their superstar, Xabi Alonso will have to pull an entire warren of rabbits out of his hat to avoid elimination.
From an injury perspective, Bayern will be without the services of Aleksandar Pavlović, Manuel Neuer, and Daniel Peretz.
Xabi Alonso is wildly flexible with his formations, generally preferring a 3-4-3 setup. However, Alonso has successfully utilized various four-back systems to disrupt Bayern’s unique attacking abilities. Florian Wirtz is the obvious superstar but Patrik Schick and Victor Boniface also have double digit goals this campaign as well.
Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Bayern Munich took a weekend loss, but that is not at the forefront of mind for most fans.
A flukey result majorly impacted by a red card allowed many fans to grant Bayern Munich a mulligan on the final score — mostly because there are bigger fish to fry this week. In addition, in a weekend rife with upsets in the Bundesliga, the loss to VfL Bochum did not end up hurting Bayern Munich too much in the league table.
Let’s get into our slate of topics. This is what we have on tap for this episode:
- Unpacking Bayern Munich’s loss to VfL Bochum. Big deal? An anomaly? Just the cost of doing business with a condensed schedule?
- What does €80 million buy you these days? Maybe not much.
- Where do things stand ahead of the Champions League match vs. Bayer Leverkusen.
- Joshua Kimmich’s saga appears to be coming to an end. Were there winners and losers or did this finish up in a good way for everyone?
