Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2023-03-18 16:30.
Bayer Leverkusen continued their UEFA Europa League charge by cruising past Ferencváros 4-0 on aggregate to reach the quarter-finals, but their attention now turns back to the Bundesliga and ensuring they return to the continental stage next term. Their worst ever top-flight start left them with work to do, but an uptick in form since Xabi Alonso’s appointment as manager and recent back-to-back league victories have reignited their chase for the top-six, although they’re still six points adrift ahead of this round.
Alonso now gets his first crack at former employers Bayern Munich who he ended his stellar playing career with. The Spaniard has ‘nice memories’ of his time with the Rekordmeister, but wants his team to play with ‘maturity’ against the German champions, something that’ll be necessary if they’re to break a six-game winless H2H streak in the Bundesliga (D1, L5), which included a 4-0 thrashing in this season’s reverse fixture.
That forms part of Bayern’s historical dominance of this fixture in which they boast a daunting overall H2H advantage (W59, D18, L19), though the Bundesliga juggernauts don’t have much breathing space at the Bundesliga summit, with Borussia Dortmund trailing by just two points heading into the weekend. Julian Nagelsmann’s men held their nerve last time out however, following up beating PSG in the Champions League with a rollercoaster 5-3 victory over Augsburg, even if the manager described their performance as ‘not brilliant’.
While he may not have been satisfied with his side’s defending in that game, netting five goals displayed his team’s attacking prowess with no league team coming close to matching their 71 strikes in the Bundesliga. Bayern are often similarly ruthless on their travels, with the division’s best away side having lost just once on the road in all competitions since September (W10, D2), and all signs appear to point to that run continuing here.
Players to watch: Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký may be kept busy, especially considering he’s kept just one clean sheet against Bayern throughout his career (W3, D3, L11). Testing his resolve could be Thomas Müller, who has directly contributed to 18 goals in 28 meetings (G9, A9) versus Leverkusen (W17, D7, L4).
Hot stat: Bayern have scored 25 goals between the 31st minute and half-time, more than double the total of any other side in the division ahead of this round.