Our next opponents: Tuchel has more options again

Position

Just two points separate FC Bayern from league leaders Bayer 04. The gap to the Werkself did extend to four points after the surprise 1-0 home defeat against Werder Bremen. But FCB, as usual, have not been thrown off course. The team from Munich are back on the heels of the league leaders after three wins against Union Berlin (1-0), FC Augsburg (3-2) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (3-1). And this direct clash gives them the opportunity to go back to the top of the table with a win.

FC Bayern found it hard going in the first 45 in the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach at the weekend. After going behind to a strike from Nico Elvedi, youngster Aleksandar Pavlovic levelled for the hosts just before half-time. Harry Kane and Matthijs de Ligt secured a hard-earned victory against a tough opponent from the Lower Rhine with their headed goals in the second half. "We remained calm, produced a good response to going behind and did our homework," said Tuchel after the game. "It was a decent performance against a difficult opponent."

This week the record champions were able to prepare for the next tough opponents undisturbed. FC Bayern are no longer in the DFB-Pokal after going out against third division FC Saarbrücken in a 2-1 defeat in the second round. After the win against Mönchengladbach, Tuchel immediately looked forward to the big match against the Werkself and he set out his stall: "We will use the time and head to Leverkusen with the clear aim of inflicting the first defeat on them and going above them. We need an absolute top performance in all positions and we have to deliver from the kick-off." Thomas Müller, who celebrated his 500th win with FC Bayern last Saturday, was full of optimism: "We're determined to deal with Leverkusen. I think we are on the right track and that we can win at the BayArena."

Personnel

The injury list at FC Bayern has been long recently. Central defender Dayot Upamecano suffered a muscle injury in the 1-0 win against Union Berlin that saw him miss the following two matches against FC Augsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach. The same applies to midfielder Joshua Kimmich who injured his shoulder in the game against Union. The rearranged match against the Berlin team was painful for right-back Konrad Laimer. The Austrian suffered a calf injury and faces a period on the sidelines at Bayern. Alphonso Davies is also sidelined for several weeks with a torn tendon."

While Davies is set to be replaced on the left side of defence by Raphael Guerreiro, Kimmich and Upamecano could be fit again for Saturday. Both returned to full training on Wednesday. If Upamecano is not ready then winter signing Eric Dier could play alongside Matthias de Ligt in central defence. But regular starter Minjae Kim is available again. The 27-year-old, playing for South Korea coached by Jürgen Klinsmann, went out of the Asian Cup in the semi-final against Jordan on Tuesday. The central defender did not play due to suspension. So it is possible that Minjae Kim will be in the FC Bayern squad on Saturday. Tuchel has recently played the Moroccan Noussair Mazraoui on the right. An alternative here is a first start for Sascha Boey. The French full-back was signed from Galatasaray at the end of January. The 19-year-old Aleksandar Pavlovic has recently been an outstanding replacement for Joshua Kimmich and he scored important goals against Augsburg and Mönchengladbach.

In addition to Laimer and Davies, Bayern will also have to manage without defender Bouna Sarr (cruciate) plus the strikers Kingsley Coman (medial CL tear) and Serge Gnabry who is in rehab training after a muscle injury. It remains to be seen whether new signing Brian Zaragoza (Granada) will be available as he was sidelined by a bout of flu during the week. There is also a question mark over the appearance of Manuel Neuer. The goalkeeper and captain has missed a number of training sessions due to slight knee problems.

Performers

FC Bayern have the best attack in the Bundesliga with 59 goals to date. The team from Munich have only scored more goals (65) in the first 20 games once before in the 2021/22 season. Top goalscorer Harry Kane clocked up his 24th goal of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach. That levels the Bundesliga record the 20 games previously set by Robert Lewandowski in 2020/21. In the same game against Gladbach, Matthijs de Ligt made it 3-1 with the 13th headed goal for Bayern this term – the best return in the league. Another demonstration of the offensive quality of FCB is that they have by far the most shots on goal (401) of all the clubs. And three more top numbers: 15 different players have scored for Bayern this season plus the most goals from counter-attacks (six) and – along with Bayer 04 – the most goals from set pieces (15). More than half of the 59 FCB goals have been scored by Harry Kane (24), Jamal Musiala (five) and Leroy Sané (eight). The latter is the best provider in the league with twelve assists – second best is the Werkself player Alejandro Grimaldo who has set up ten goals.

Problems

Even with such a high quality and big squad, FC Bayern are still not immune to personnel problems. For the record champions, the simultaneous loss of key players such as Coman, Laimer, Davies, Gnabry, recently Upamecano and Kimmich, are perhaps not too easy to compensate for. Tuchel has often had to reshuffle his defence and he has fielded twelve different players at the back so far.

Prediction

Bayern are well aware of the big challenge that awaits at the BayArena on Saturday. Striker Harry Kane is convinced: "It will be a tough game. We'll have to battle and give our all to pick up the three points." His teammate Matthijs de Ligt said: "Leverkusen are very good with the ball." And goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who played alongside Xabi Alonso at FC Bayern, recently highlighted that "Xabi and Bayer Leverkusen suit each other really well and that radiates to the players." There is huge respect for the Werkself. Nevertheless, FCB go into the game in confident mood. The team from Munich again and again show their strength of nerve especially when it comes to the crunch. On their way to the 11th league title in succession last season they were often several points adrift but ended up lifting the Bundesliga Meisterschale. There is no doubt that strong mentality will be needed at the BayArena on Saturday night.