Bundesliga champions go head to head with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, looking to shake off their European hangover and get back to winning ways following a three-match winless stretch in all competitions. Leverkusen have struggles of their own and the match on Allianz Arena promises to be a highly contested one.

Broken Bayern

The Bavarians find themselves in an unusual place. Three games without a win and back-to-back defeats have put head coach Carlo Ancelotti under great deal of pressure and it is now up to the Italian to do his best to motivate the players to come back to winning ways. It is as if that last week’s 1-0 Der Klassiker defeat at the hands of Dortmund was not enough of a blow, Bayern Munich went on to record a 3-2 Champions League defeat at FK Rostov. The Bavarians missed the chance to stay in the running for Group D top spot as they went on to lose their lead and fall behind inspired Russians, who earned great three points which put them one foot in the Europa League. Bayern have gone through an unlikely transformation, going from predator to prey and it is up to the German champions to now rediscover their winning instincts and get back to their best.

Ancelotti will have plenty of selection problems ahead of Saturday’s clash as he is without Arturo Vidal, Arjen Robben, Kingsley Koman and Javi Martinez who are all ruled out with respective injuries.

Unpredictable Bayer

Leverkusen have built strong foundations last season with some compelling displays that earned them the right to compete among the best of the best in 2016-17, but their battle on two fronts is coming with a cost. Bayer Leverkusen managed to qualify for the Champions League knockouts after a 1-1 draw at CSKA Moscow will now place their focus on their domestic exploits, hoping to inflict another blow to the struggling title holders. Roger Schmidt’s side is more than capable to do so as they have become quite unpredictable this term. Able to beat most teams on their good day, Bayer Leverkusen have squandered plenty of points through conceding late goals, such was the case in their 3-2 defeat to leaders RB Leipzig which pushed them to ninth place in the standings. Despite their unpredictability, Bayer have managed to stay unbeaten in their last three matches on the road and that is exactly their aim ahead of the trip to Allianz Arena.

Karim Bellarabi, Lars Bender and Stefan Kiessling are confirmed absentees Roger Schmidt will not be able to call upon, whereas Pohjanpalo is a serious doubt as he is still experiencing ankle problems.

Verdict

Both Bayern and Bayern are heading into the Saturday’s duel feeling the heat after some of the highly disappointing results and we should expect a highly-contested match between two sides looking to get back on track. Bayern have a big point to prove and defend their scrutinized manager, while Leverkusen proved to be quite an unpredictable team.

Top Pick: Both teams to score – No   2.00 (1/1) @BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Bayern/Bayern   1.95 (19/20) @Coral

Alternative pick 2: Bayern to win both halves   3.00 (2/1) @Unibet