Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen Prediction: Alonso can frustrate Die Roten again

The Uefa Champions League presents an all-German affair in one of the round of 16 ties as Bayern Munich welcome Bayer Leverkusen to the Allianz Arena for the first leg on Wednesday (20:00, TNT Sports 2). The visitors knocked Bayern off their perch in the Bundesliga last season and have been a constant thorn in their side in recent years.

The visitors are unbeaten against Bayern in three games this season, which included a DFB-Pokal victory here back in December, with former Burnley man Nathan Tella netting the only goal of the game. Unlike their opponents, Leverkusen progressed to the round of 16 directly, whilst Vincent Kompany's side had to scrape past Celtic to book this contest. Read on for my Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen predictions, supported by the latest team news and match odds.

Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen Odds

Bayern have won four of their five home appearances in the Champions League this term and they are 4/5 to take the advantage in this tie.

Their last home encounter in Europe was a draw, whilst both meetings with Leverkusen in the Bundesliga have ended in a stalemate. You can back the draw at 3/1 here, which carries an implied probability of 25%.

Leverkusen may have won just one of their four away trips in this competition but they did beat Bayern here back in December in the DFB-Pokal. They are 100/30 to come away with the victory here.

Under 2.5 goals has struck in all three meetings between the two teams in 2024/25, and it is available at 11/10 (47.6%) this time around.

Football Odds

Team News

Bayern boss Kompany will be hoping Joshua Kimmich will be fit to feature on Wednesday, having returned to light training following tendon irritation that saw him miss out the last match against VfB Stutgart.

The club are also hoping to tie the German international down to a new contract, with the defender's current deal set to expire at the end of the current campaign. There have been recent concerns over Eric Dier, Aleksandar Pavlovic (both illness), Jamal Musiala, Joao Palhinha and Alphonso Davies (all knocks), but all are set to be available to face Die Werkself.

Harry Kane has provided seven goals for Bayern in Europe this term and no player has had more goal involvements in the Champions League since the start of 2023/24 than the Englishman (15 goals, five assists).

Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz is one goal behind the Bayern striker in this UCL campaign, as his stock continues to rise on the continent.

Piero Hincapie is back in contention again after he was suspended at the weekend, but fellow defender Jeanuel Belocian remains a long-term absentee for Xabi Alonso's team. Martin Terrier is a doubt to feature but other than that, the visitors have a clean bill of health.

Draw or Bayer Leverkusen @ 1/1

Bayer Leverkusen disrupted the status quo by snatching the Bundesliga title away from Bayern Munich last year after Die Roten had won it for 11 consecutive seasons. Leverkusen have been a thorn in the hosts' side in the last couple of years, going six games unbeaten against Bayern in all competitions.

I mentioned earlier how three of those games have come in this campaign, and I do believe this can play a role in the outcome of this first leg. Leverkusen will have confidence from their DFB-Pokal triumph here back in December, while Bayern have had a habit of blowing hot and cold in Europe.

With this being the Champions League, though, the high stakes could encourage strong performances from both teams to deliver a stellar contest. However, seeing as the visitors have developed into a bogey team for Bayern, I feel backing double chance in their favour seems appropriate at the Allianz Arena.

Bet Builder - Harry Kane and Florian Wirtz to score anytime @ 15/2

When you consider that these two players have scored 13 goals between them in this competition in 2024/25, 15/2 looks excellent value for them to get on the scoresheet in Munich.

Neither player has scored in the three meetings between the two clubs this term, but they could be saving their best stuff for the biggest stage. These types of games are built for stars to step up and deliver, and seeing as this fixture in particular has had an extra edge in the past 18 months, you could see both Kane and Wirtz grabbing the headlines on Wednesday night.

Offers

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