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Bayern Munich will take on defending DFB Pokal champions Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16 on Tuesday, with only one of the Bundesliga giants advancing to the quarter-finals. Vincent Kompany’s men drew against Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker this weekend in preparation, while Xabi Alonso’s side defeated Union Berlin in the German top flight. Both teams won the UEFA Champions League last week and Bayern are six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Ulm and Mainz have been dismissed by Bayern so far and now the Bavarian giants are turning their attention to the cup, who have 20 titles to their name this edition. However, their last win in this competition came in 2020, so there is no shortage of motivation in this round of 16. Leverkusen defeated Kaiserslautern in last year’s final to complete an unbeaten domestic run. Die Werkself have only knocked out Bayern once in seven cup games, beating Carl Zeiss Jena and Elversberg so far.
Bayern and Leverkusen are a much more even contest these days, with Alonso overseeing a four-match unbeaten run against Kompany’s team. The visitors have scored in their last 34 DFB Pokal away games, but the last time they failed to score in a domestic cup match was against Bayern in 2015, which ended on penalties.
Here you’ll find our storylines, how to watch the match and more.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday December 3 | Time: 2:45 PM ET
- Location: Allianz Arena – Munich, Bavaria, Germany
- Watch: ESPN+
- Chances: Bavaria +450; Sign +300; Leverkusen-167
Season so far
Bayern lead defending champions Leverkusen in the Bundesliga by nine points after Kompany’s Bavarians salvaged a point against Dortmund, who maintained an unbeaten away record but ended a run of seven wins, including 18 goals and seven clean sheets. Alonso’s Werkself are ahead of Bayern in the UCL league standings and have closed the gap in the Bundesliga somewhat with a win over Union, but it has been a tough title defense overall so far.
Team news
Bavaria: Harry Kane is out injured and could miss around a week, while Thomas Muller or Mathys Tel are expected to come on. Joao Palhinha, Hiroki Ito, Josip Stanisic and Sven Ulreich are also out, while Aleksandar Pavlovic is doubtful despite being back in training.
Possible Bayern XI: Neuer; Boey, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Olise, Musiala, Coman; Müller.
Leverkusen: Victor Boniface, Jonas Hofmann, Amine Adli, Jeanuel Belocian and Martin Terrier are all injured, while Patrick Schick is expected to come in at the top, while Artem Stepanov is also an attacking option. Florian Wirtz should return while Robert Andrich, Aleix Garcia and captain Granit Xhaka should form the midfield.
Possible Leverkusen XI: Kovar; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich, García, Grimaldo; Wirtz; Arrange.
Prediction
Given Leverkusen’s absences and Bayern’s clearly depleted attack, expect fewer goals and perhaps the home side emerging victorious with one goal. Choose: Bayern 1, Leverkusen 0.