Preview:Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen - prediction, team news, lineups

Saturday’s big offering in the Bundesliga sees the two most recent champions lock horns as Bayern Munich welcome Bayer Leverkusen to the Allianz Arena for a tasty heavyweight encounter.

The Bavarians are currently steamrolling through all their opponents across all competitions, while Die Werkself are heading south in good spirits, having won four of their last five games.

Match preview

Top of the table, eight wins from eight, 30 goals scored and just four conceded – to say Bayern Munich are making this season look easy would be an understatement of the century.

Vincent Kompany appears to have constructed a footballing monster, which has ravaged through the German top tier with ease since the start of the new season.

Bayern’s only stern test in recent weeks came in Der Klassiker against Borussia Dortmund – a match which the Bavarians won 2-1 in front of their home fans.

Since then, Bayern have put four goals past Club Brugge in the Champions League, three past Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga, and four more beyond FC Koln in Wednesday’s DFB-Pokal win.

Kompany and his men shift their attention to Leverkusen this weekend, and they will be determined to end their five-match winless run against Die Werkself in the Bundesliga.

Speaking of Leverkusen, Kasper Hjulmand and his men will travel to Bavaria on the back of four victories from their last five matches across all competitions.

Successes over Union Berlin, Mainz, Freiburg and Paderborn were all impressive in their own way, but there’s no hiding the embarrassing 7-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain sandwiched between those wins.

That Champions League calamity underlined just how much things have deteriorated at Leverkusen, following the highs of the Xabi Alonso era.

From the world-class ability of Florian Wirtz to the experience of Granit Xhaka, Leverkusen lost over £200m worth of talent over the summer – a window which saw a huge overhaul of players across all positions.

Hjulmand is still trying to put the pieces together, and despite the heavy Champions League defeat, there are positive signs – none more so than the fact Leverkusen have only suffered one competitive defeat from 11 games.

Bayern Munich Bundesliga form:

W W W W W W

Bayern Munich form (all competitions):

W W W W W W

Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga form:

W D W W W W

Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):

D W W L W W

Team News

Bayern Munich continue to compete without Alphonso Davies, who has been nursing a knee injury since March.

Japan international Hiroki Ito has also been out of action since March, with the defender struggling to recover from his foot problem.

Jamal Musiala is the third long-term absentee, though the midfielder is expected to return before December as he continues to make progress with his injury.

Harry Kane will lead the attack for the Bavarians as he looks to continue his terrific goalscoring run. In fact, the England international has only failed to score in three games this season, against Monchengladbach, Augsburg, and Andorra.

Leverkusen, on the other hand, will be without Ezequiel Fernandez this weekend, with the Argentinian midfielder currently nursing a knee injury.

Exequiel Palacios has been out for a couple of months with a groin problem, and he is likely to remain on the sidelines this Saturday.

Nigerian midfielder Nathan Tella has also been out of action for the last two months, though the 26-year-old is struggling with a knee injury.

Malik Tillman is another doubt for the team, with the midfielder missing the last couple of weeks with a hamstring issue.

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:

Neuer; Boey, Upamecano, Tah, Laimer; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Gnabry, Diaz; Kane

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Flekken; Quansah, Bade, Tapsoba; Arthur, Andrich, Garcia, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Poku; Schick