RB Leipzig vs Bayern Munich

RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich are set to square off the Red Bull Arena in a heavyweight Bundesliga showdown.

Since a goal-glutted 3-2 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen on the opening Bundesliga weekend, Leipzig have gone from strength to strength in Germany’s top flight, racking up four consecutive wins, bookended by a narrow 1-0 triumph at Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend. Marco Rose’s side followed up that success with a dramatic 3-2 DFB-Pokal win over lower-league Wehen in midweek, making it six consecutive victories in all competitions. Leipzig’s purple patch in the build-up to this blockbuster suggests ‘Die Roten Bullen’ could be in a prime position to maintain their unbeaten H2H run against Bayern Munich in 2023 (W2, D1). But they’ll need to get that bid over the line without injured playmaker Dani Olmo, who bagged a hat-trick in Leipzig’s 3-0 demolition of the ‘Bavarians’ in August’s DFL-Supercup showpiece.

Like their hosts, Bayern Munich navigated their opening DFB-Pokal fixture with relative ease, thumping lower-league Preussen Munster 4-0 in midweek, only days after a scintillating 7-0 romping of Bochum in the Bundesliga. Barring a 2-2 home draw against Leverkusen on matchday four, Thomas Tuchel’s men have enjoyed an otherwise near-perfect start to their Bundesliga title defense (W4). Bringing other competitions into the equation, the ‘Bavarians’ have won their last three outings on the trot, netting an intimidating 15 goals in the process. However, a low-scoring affair could be in store for a change, considering four of Bayern’s last five top-flight visits to Leipzig have featured under 2.5 goals. Tuchel won’t mind such a scenario if it would allow his men to win their first three away games of a Bundesliga campaign for the first time since 2015/16.