It’s the big one in the Bundesliga as second place Bayern Munich take on the league leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Just two points separates the two sides at the top with Bayer Leverkusen currently leading the race in 1st place.
Xabi Alonso’s side are yet to lose this season and have gone 30 games without a loss in all competitions which only Bayern Munich have bettered in history with a 32 game unbeaten streak back in 2020.
They have also conceded the least amount of goals in the league with just 14.
They face a Bayern Munich team who are top scorers in the league and have picked up seven more points than this stage of the 2022-23 season in which they won the title. They have also picked up the most points at home this season with 28.
The last time these two teams met was in September when the points were shared in a 2-2 draw. The game was full of drama with Harry Kane opening the scoring, Alex Grimaldo equalizing with a stunning free kick and then Leon Goretzka restoring Bayern’s lead, only for Exequiel Palacios to save Leverkusen in the 94th minute with a penalty strike.
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Leverkusen will still be missing Victor Boniface and Arthur due to injuries and Odilon Kossounou will also be missing due to reaching the final of the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast.
Exequiel Palacios is a doubt for the game as he has missed the past three matches due to injury.
For Bayern Munich, Alphonso Davies will join the injury list consisting of Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, Bouna Sarr, Tarek Buchmann and Daniel Peretz due to picking up a knee injury last week.
Joshua Kimmich and Konrad Laimer returned to full training this week and are likely to be in the squad. Kim Min-jae is also available for selection after returning from the Asian cup.
Konrad Laimer and Bryan Zaragoza will both be assessed before the game, with Laimer returning from a calf injury and Zaragoza recently being ill.
GGFN | Matthew Gritton
