Two heavy weights of German football come head to head in a clash which is not taking place at the right time for either side.
The signs were there but not heeded. Now, they will certainly be heeded. A labored 0-1 win over Hoffenheim followed a devil-may-care 3-2 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf. A shocking loss to Arsenal which saw Bayern held scoreless for the first time this season made sure that the alarm bells in Munich were well and truly ringing. An angry Matthias Sammer surely is the worst nightmare of any Bayern player currently.
Leverkusen however is not in the mood to exploit Bayern’s weaknesses. They lost to Mainz last week courtesy of an Adam Szalai penalty. The week before, they huffed and puffed en route to a 2-1 victory over Stuttgart. Two weeks ago, they picked up only a point against the worst time in the league, Greuther Fürth. Leverkusen will not want to meet Bayern currently.
A wounded Bayern is much more dangerous than a complacent Bayern.
In October, in Munich, Bayer 04 first showed that Bayern is actually vulnerable. Two strange goals handed them victory in a match which Bayern dominated. Firstly, Stefan Kiessling scored a goal off his shin. Bayern deservedly earned their equalizer through Mario Mandzukic. Then in the 87th minute, a rather strange thing happened.
Sidney Sam headed a ball woefully after receiving a cross. The ball, headed towards the corner flag, bounced off Jerome Boateng, and headed past Manuel Neuer into the back of the net. Claudio Pizarro went close to equalizing for Bayern but a draw was not in the cards. For the second time in a row, Bayer 04 had gotten the better of Bayern.
Relationships between the two clubs aren’t the greatest either as Bayern had flirted with purchasing Arturo Vidal and Lars Bender previously. Rudi Völler, in the case of Vidal, had declared that Bayer 04 would sell Vidal to any club ‘but Bayern.’
Bayern should be back to full strength minus long term injury victim Holger Badstuber in this one. Bastian Schweinsteiger will return after missing the midweek game against Arsenal due to suspension. Arjen Robben will rightfully head back to the bench after a woeful performance in midweek. Franck Ribery, who missed the Champions League game, should be back from injury. Mario Gomez could be set to start after Mario Mandzukic’s poor midweek display.
This game will see two extremely different styles clash. While Bayern can play in many different ways, their natural game is to control possession. They will be set to return to that while Leverkusen will adopt a counter attacking approach. Bayern has been hit on the counter attack twice in the past two matches. Sascha Lewandowski will surely have noted that.
Finally, who will win this clash?
Prediction:
Leverkusen 2-1 Bayern
Leverkusen however is not in the mood to exploit Bayern’s weaknesses. They lost to Mainz last week courtesy of an Adam Szalai penalty. The week before, they huffed and puffed en route to a 2-1 victory over Stuttgart. Two weeks ago, they picked up only a point against the worst time in the league, Greuther Fürth. Leverkusen will not want to meet Bayern currently.
A wounded Bayern is much more dangerous than a complacent Bayern.
In October, in Munich, Bayer 04 first showed that Bayern is actually vulnerable. Two strange goals handed them victory in a match which Bayern dominated. Firstly, Stefan Kiessling scored a goal off his shin. Bayern deservedly earned their equalizer through Mario Mandzukic. Then in the 87th minute, a rather strange thing happened.
Sidney Sam headed a ball woefully after receiving a cross. The ball, headed towards the corner flag, bounced off Jerome Boateng, and headed past Manuel Neuer into the back of the net. Claudio Pizarro went close to equalizing for Bayern but a draw was not in the cards. For the second time in a row, Bayer 04 had gotten the better of Bayern.
Relationships between the two clubs aren’t the greatest either as Bayern had flirted with purchasing Arturo Vidal and Lars Bender previously. Rudi Völler, in the case of Vidal, had declared that Bayer 04 would sell Vidal to any club ‘but Bayern.’
Bayern should be back to full strength minus long term injury victim Holger Badstuber in this one. Bastian Schweinsteiger will return after missing the midweek game against Arsenal due to suspension. Arjen Robben will rightfully head back to the bench after a woeful performance in midweek. Franck Ribery, who missed the Champions League game, should be back from injury. Mario Gomez could be set to start after Mario Mandzukic’s poor midweek display.
This game will see two extremely different styles clash. While Bayern can play in many different ways, their natural game is to control possession. They will be set to return to that while Leverkusen will adopt a counter attacking approach. Bayern has been hit on the counter attack twice in the past two matches. Sascha Lewandowski will surely have noted that.
Finally, who will win this clash?
Prediction:
Leverkusen 2-1 Bayern
