It's a huge top-of-the-table clash at the Allianz Arena. It's a potentially crucial clash in the race for the Bundesliga title on Saturday as last year's runners-up Bayern Munich welcome defending champs Bayer Leverkusen to Allianz Arena.
Bayern currently tops the table after making a bright start under new boss Vincent Kompany, having claimed with 12 points from their opening four league games.
It's been a mixed season so far for Leverkusen. Xabi Alonso's side have won six of their seven competitive games but look decidedly shaky in defence, having conceded 11 times already.
Match Details
Bayern Munich host Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, Sept. 28. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m CEST local time in Germany, making it an 12:30 p.m. ET or 9:30 a.m PT start in the US, a 5:30 p.m. start in the UK and a 2:30 a.m. AEST kickoff in Australia in the early hours of Sunday morning.
How to Watch Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen
Watching the game in the US
ESPN once again holds the broadcast rights for Bundesliga matches in the US, with its streaming service ESPN Plus set to show every match of the 2024/25 season live.
ESPN's standalone streaming service costs $11 a month, or $110 for an annual subscription (which works out to just over $9 a month). The service will be broadcasting more than 300 Bundesliga fixtures live this season. Read our ESPN Plus review.
Using a VPN to Watch Bundesliga Matches
If you find yourself unable to view Bundesliga matches locally, you may need a different way to watch the games -- that's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it's also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month with code SPECIALDEAL, which should be automatically applied.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Watching the game in the UK
Broadcast rights to show Bundesliga games live in the UK are with Sky Sports, with this match set to be shown on its Sky Sports Plus channel. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the game via its Sky Go app, but cord-cutters will want to get set up with a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the match.
Sky subsidiary Now (formerly Now TV) offers streaming access to Sky Sports channels with a Now Sports membership. You can get a day of access for £15, or sign up to a monthly plan from £35 a month right now.
Watching the game in Canada
Canadian soccer fans looking to watch the German top flight this season can watch every game live via DAZN, including this one.
A DAZN subscription costs CA$30 a month or CA$200 a year. It'll also give you access to Champions League, Europa League and EFL Championship soccer, plus Six Nations rugby and WTA tennis.
As well as dedicated apps for iOS and Android, there's a wide range of support for set-top boxes and smart TVs.
Watching the game in Australia
Football fans Down Under can watch Bundesliga fixtures live on BeIN Sports. The network will be showing all Bundesliga matches this term, plus relegation play-offs, DFL Super Cup games and select Bundesliga 2 fixtures.
BeIN Sports is available in Australia for AU$15 a month or a yearly commitment of $150.
Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen: Team News
Bayern Munich will be without defenders Hiroki Ito and Josip Stanisic until October and November respectively, while right-back Sacha Boey is not scheduled to come back until December.
Forward Arijon Ibrahimovic should return early next month and goalkeeper Daniel Peretz is likely to be unavailable for another few days.
In this Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen game, Manuel Neuer is set to reclaim his spot in goal. And he may be shielded by a defence of Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae and Alphonso Davies.
Joshua Kimmich has been partnered in midfield by Aleksandar Pavlovic for the last two games. And Kompany may not wish to disrupt the duo’s rhythm by introducing a new partner for either.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen have no injury concerns and Alonso should be able to choose from a healthy squad.
Xhaka is certain to start in midfield. But given the defensive frailty of the team in recent weeks, it would not be surprising if his partner Aleix Garcia dropped out of the XI and was replaced by Exequiel Palacios.
Wing-back Jeremie Frimpong and striker Boniface will also come back into the XI on Saturday for Nordi Mukiele and Patrik Schick respectively.
Attacker Florian Wirtz has scored four times in his last three matches, and Alonso will hope the German can continue his strong form for Leverkusen.
Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen: Predicted Line-Ups
[Bayern Munich:Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Musiala, Gnabry; Kane
Bayer Leverkusen:Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Terrier, Wirtz; Boniface.](https://bulinews.com/confirmed-lineups-bayern-munich-bayer-leverkusen)
Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen: Prediction
Bayern Munich have started the season in blistering form and are the clear favorites to win this game. They have been particularly impressive in attack, scoring 29 goals in just six games so far this season.
However, Bayer Leverkusen are no pushovers and will be looking to cause an upset. They have won six of their seven competitive games this season and have a strong attacking unit.
Given Bayern’s potent attack and Leverkusen’s shaky defense, I believe that Bayern will win this game. However, I do think that Bayer Leverkusen will score at least one goal.
Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen: Match Preview
Champions Bayer Leverkusen travel to Allianz Arena on Saturday where they will face Bayern Munich.
The hosts have started life under manager Vincent Kompany well. They are currently first with 12 points from four league games. But the visitors are second with nine points and have won three of their four top-flight matches.
If there were doubts about whether Kompany could compete for the title in his first season in charge, they seem to have at least been eased after Bayern’s strong start to the 2024-25 campaign.
The Bavarians have won all six of their competitive matches this term. This include a 5-0 victory against Werder Bremen last time out on September 21.
Michael Olise scored twice and registered two assists, while Harry Kane continued his fine form by scoring once and assisting twice.
In their previous game, Bayern beat Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 on September 17, a match in which Kane scored four times and overtook Wayne Rooney as the leading English goalscorer in Champions League history.
Kompany’s side have scored 20 times in their last three competitive games and 29 goals in their six games so far this campaign.
Interestingly, Bayern’s tally of 16 Bundesliga goals is the most in the division but is nearly six more than their expected goals figure, and they have only produced the fourth most big chances of the 18 top-flight teams.
Opponents Bayer Leverkusen have had a mixed season so far in terms of performance, as while they have won six of their seven competitive games, they have conceded 11 times already.
Wolfsburg managed to score three times against Xabi Alonso’s team last time out on September 22, and his side only won thanks to a 93rd-minute winner from Victor Boniface.
Leverkusen conceded an average of 0.71 goals per game in the Bundesliga last season, but are conceding at a rate of 2.25 per game this term.
Midfielder Granit Xhaka claimed that his team’s poor defensive outings in 2024-25 have not been because of a systematic weakness, but rather because they have not been aggressive enough without the ball and are allowing opponents too much space to play into.
Alonso spoke similarly after his side’s win against Wolfsburg and said that his team’s play is far too hectic in defence and in attack.
Leverkusen come into the clash having won 31, drawn six and lost just one of their last 38 league games, as well as having won 16 and drawn three of their 19 most recent away matches.
Key Takeaways
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Bayern Munich are in red-hot form and are looking to make a statement against Bayer Leverkusen.
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Bayer Leverkusen are looking to make a statement by beating Bayern Munich this weekend.
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The match will be televised on the SonySports Network in India.
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Bayern Munich have scored 29 goals in just six games this season.
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Bayer Leverkusen have conceded 11 goals in seven competitive games this season.
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This is a crucial match in the race for the Bundesliga title.
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Bayern Munich will be looking to restore themselves as the Kings of Germany this Bundesliga season.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback.
