Questions ahead of Bayern Munich v RB Leipzig
February 7, 2020
Can Bayern Munich avoid a third home defeat?
The defending Bundesliga champions have rediscovered their title-winning form over the last two months. They've won six consecutive league games and have reclaimed top spot in the standings.
A home win on Sunday against RB Leipzig could be key to Bayern's quest to win an eighth consecutive league title. But the German giants don't have a perfect record in the Allianz Arena, having lost to both Hoffenheim and Leverkusen at home this season.
Read more: Why Bayern Munich are going to win the Bundesliga — again
Though not in the best form, Leipzig are able to pose a challenge to Bayern that few teams in German can. The Bavarians have just wrested the top spot in the Bundesliga away from the Red Bulls and they won't be keen to give it up.
Can RB Leipzig come out strong in the first half?
After a solid 3-1 win over Union Berlin to start 2020, Leipzig lost twice to Eintracht Frankfurt, first in the Bundesliga in January and then in the German Cup earlier this week. They also split the points with title-rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 20.
Their recent dip in form can be attributed in large part to poor first-half performances. Julian Nagelsmann's side have allowed two goals in the opening period in each of their last three games despite out-possessing and out-passing their opponents. Only once, against Gladbach, were they able to come back and level the score, and Alassane Plea's sending off in the second half helped make that possible.
As Timo Werner noted earlier this week, Leipzig can't afford to start slowly in Munich.
"If Bayern take the lead, they don't let it slip away," he said in an interview with German football publication Kicker.
Read more: German Cup: RB Leipzig eliminated after Julian Nagelsmann's gamble fails
Can Thomas Müller open his account against RBL?
After failing to score in 10 league games under Niko Kovac, who was sacked in early November, Müller now has five goals in 10 games under Hansi Flick. He's found the net in each of Bayern's games in 2020, including one on Wednesday in his side's 4-3 win over Hoffenheim in the cup.
But the 30-year-old forward has failed to score in his five appearances against Leipzig. The fact that the Red Bulls are without Ibrahima Konate and Willi Orban and thus forced to us wide defenders like Marcel Halstenberg and Lukas Klostermann more centrally, may help Müller to finally find the back of the net against the Saxony-based club.
Read more: Thomas Müller proves his worth as Bayern Munich reach German Cup quarters
Which Timo Werner will show up in Munich?
Werner is having the best season of his career. His tally of 20 Bundesliga goals is one short of his single-season best and is second only to Robert Lewandowski's 22 in the league this term.
But the 23-year-old forward has been a non-factor in Leipzig's last three winless games. Werner has averaged 2.3 shots on goal per game in the Bundesliga this season, but he only had a combined total of two shots on target in Leipzig's contests against Frankfurt and Gladbach.
As a focal point in the Red Bull attack, Werner will need to be on his game in order to give his side a chance against the defending league champions.
Can Leipzig avoid a sending off?
Leipzig have never finished a game at the Allianz Arena with 11 men.
In their first-ever trip, a 3-0 defeat in December 2016, Emil Forsberg was sent off after a hard foul on Philipp Lahm. Orban saw straight red 10 minutes after kickoff for a last-man tackle on Arjen Robben when the two sides met in October 2017, a game the Red Bulls lost 2-0.
Leipzig's most-recent visit to Munich came in December 2018, when they almost made it to the final whistle with all 11 players on the pitch. However, a dust up in stoppage time, sparked by a rash Stefan Ilsanker challenge on Thiago, led to both Ilsanker's and Renato Sanches' dismissal. The sendings off had no bearing on the result, a 1-0 victory for Bayern.