Bundesliga: Can Red Bull Thwart Bayern’s Bounce-Back Hopes?

Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig

It isn’t Der Klassiker; but when Red Bull Leipzig stand up against Bayern Munich you now we have a Bundesliga blockbuster.

The reason this fixture does not yet have the status of the accepted ‘classics’ across Europe is that Red Bull haven’t been around for long, a stratospheric rise taking them from the fifth tier when founded in 2009 to the top flight in just eight years. And now, love them or loathe them, the Red Bulls are powerhouses of German and European football.

On Friday Leipzig meet the kings of the SBOTOP Bundesliga and, for a young team that is a daunting task; but head coach Marco Rose has his side playing without fear and a win at the Allianz Arena would lift them to within three points of the leaders. Vincent Kompany’s Bayern are hoping to eradicate the memory of a first league loss, last week to Mainz, while Red Bull kept their top four charge on track with a 2-1 win over rivals Eintracht Frankfurt    

Rose will see this as an opportunity to take on the Bavarians when they are vulnerable, but he certainly won’t underestimate the size of the task; the latest FC Bayern vs Red Bull Leipzig odds price the hosts as low as 1.30 to win this game.

 

Talking Points

Kane back in training

He’s dominated the Bundesliga 2024 news headlines for much of the campaign, and particularly since he was injured during Bayern’s recent 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund, but star striker and England captain Harry Kane is back on the grass and with a realistic hope of being involved on Friday. His hamstring injury kept him out of games against Heidenheim and Mainz in the league, and Bayer Leverkusen and Shakhtar Donetsk in cup competitions.

After the defeat to FSV Mainz Kompany offered some hope that Kane might make a return before Christmas and now he has a real chance to make his return against Leipzig, 20 days after he picked up his injury. If he does make it, league leading scorer Kane will replace the veteran Thomas Muller and, as good as Muller is, his appearance would be a huge boost to the Bavarians. But there is less hopeful news elsewhere as wingback Sacha Boey has picked up an ankle ligament injury in training and the club says he will likely be sidelined, with Konrad Laimer taking that spot. The 24 year old has had bad luck since his arrival in Munich, also taking time out to recover from a knee injury back in September.            

Elsewhere at the club, the last line of defence, keeper Manuel Neuer has agreed to put pen to paper to extend his contract by another year. The club captain, now 38, picked up a red card in the DFB Pokal loss to Leverkusen and has been replaced by Israel keeper Daniel Peretz for the last three games. Neuer is likely to start this game on the bench but anything other than a home win could see him push his way back in to the starting line-up.    

 

Openda and Sesko mean business  

Leipzig’s clash with top four rivals Eintracht Frankfurt was a real six-pointer and the Red Bull win took them alongside the Eagles on points, two behind Bayer Leverkusen and six behind Bayern. Lois Openda, with six goals and three assists, and Benjamin Sesko, with five goals and two assists have struck up a highly productive partnership and both were on target in the win over Frankfurt. Belgian striker Openda is in his second season at the club and has scored 29 goals in 47 games in all competitions, as is 21 year old Slovenian Sesko, who has scored 19 goals since his transfer from sister club Salzburg.     

Leipzig have a strong core, with attacking midfielder Christoph Baumgartner sitting behind the strikers and his Austrian team-mate Xavier Schlager in central midfield, and they are captained by club legend Willi Orban. The Hungarian international has been with the club since 2015 and he has been a huge figure in Red Bull’s climb to the very top, as the leader of defence.

 

History

Bayern Munich have bossed this relationship since Red Bull Leipzig completed their rapid climb through the German leagues, but they haven’t had it all their own way, winning 11 of their 20 encounters, drawing six and losing three.

Last season Die Bayern won this clash by the odd goal in three; and that after drawing 2-2 in Leipzig earlier in the campaign. 

In terms of recent activity both teams have been in patchy from with three wins from the last six games but, while Leipzig have lost the other three Bayern have drawn one and lost two.  

 

Betting Tip

The draw is at 5.19 and Red Bull are priced at 6.28 to win and, while it would be a huge result for Rose’s boys to frustrate Bayern Munich, who have won five and drawn one at home in the league, I think they may get close and, for a Correct Score I’d go for 2-1 to Bayern at odds of 8.48, or even a 1-1 draw at 11.56.

   

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