Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig Preview: Team News & Prediction

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Marco Rose remains in charge of RB Leipzig and they have earned a couple of much-needed Bundesliga victories ahead of this one against the runaway league leaders, Bayern Munich.

Kick-off date/time: Friday 20th December, 2024: UK – 7:30pm / US ET – 2:30pm / US PT – 11:30am

How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / US – Some matches will be televised on ESPN channels so it is worth checking their schedules

How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / US – ESPN+

Bayern Munich Preview: Recovering from the loss

Vincent Kompany was a controversial choice to become Bayern Munich boss in the summer but the former Burnley manager has started well, although the Bavarians will need to overcome their first loss of the league campaign last weekend as they went down at Mainz.

After a recent loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal, winning the Bundesliga has become even more important for Bayern. They had their lead at the top-of-the-table cut by a Lee Jae-sung scoring a brace for Mainz in a 2-1 win with Leroy Sane notching a consolation.

RB Leipzig Preview: Rediscovering their form

RB Leipzig started the season well in terms of their results but performances remained below par. Results then started to follow the trend of their performances as they fell away from the Bundesliga title race but they come into this one on the back of back-to-back wins.

Either side of their much-needed victories against Holstein Kiel and Eintracht Frankfurt, they did however suffer a 3-2 loss at home to Aston Villa to make it six defeats from six defeats in the UEFA Champions League. They do remain tucked inside the top four in the Bundesliga.

Bayern Munich Team News: Possible Kane return

England captain Harry Kane has returned to training this week and he should be involved against Leipzig this weekend alongside Alphonso Davies. The hosts do remain without club captain Manuel Neuer as well as the likes of Josip Stanisic and Joao Palhinha.

Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Peretz; Laimer, Dier, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Musiala, Sane; Kane

Unavailable: Neuer (Injured), Ito (Injured), Stanisic (Injured), Boey (Injured), Joao Palhinha (Injured)

Questionable: Davies (Fitness), Coman (Injured), Gnabry (Injured), Kane (Fitness)

RB Leipzig Team News: Xavi Simons’ fitness

Xavi Simons has undergone surgery and is expected to be back in the New Year but he is ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation. RB Leipzig are still missing some key players such as Castello Lukeba, Eljif Elmas and Denmark international forward Yussuf Poulsen.

Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Vandevoordt; Seiwald, Orban, Geertruida; Henrichs, Schlager, Kampl, Nusa; Baumgartner; Sesko, Openda

Unavailable: Lukeba (Injured), Ouedraogo (Injured), Elmas (Injured), Poulsen (Injured), Simons (Fitness)

Questionable: Raum (Injured), Haidara (Injured)

Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig Prediction

Vincent Kompany’s style of football seems to suit a team with much better players than their opposition simply overwhelming all opposition but when the game is a bit closer, they can struggle. Unlike last season, they aren’t dropping many silly points, aside from last weekend, but have found things a little tougher on the continent and against teams like Leverkusen. Leipzig did earn a very impressive win against Frankfurt last week and that should be enough to see Rose stay in charge over the winter break, regardless of what happens in this final game of 2024, with a comfortable defeat at the Allianz Arena to be expected for this one.

Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig Tip: Bayern Munich to win