"We're expecting a real fight"

In the first round of fixtures in 2019, it was Bayern who had the honour of kicking off first in the title race. Last week it was Borussia Dortmund, but this weekend the two play at the same time. While Bayern are in Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 15:30 CET, coverage available in our live ticker), BVB are in Frankfurt. However, Niko Kovac doesn’t want to get distracted by events elsewhere. “We can only influence what happens on our pitch,” the coach stated. “And we have to win our matches.”

This task will be difficult enough, as the 47-year-old explained: “I think they’re a really good team. They’re that bit more attacking under Peter Bosz, are compact and push from the front. It won’t be easy.” Bosz took over at Leverkusen during the winter break and has changed the system from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3. The Werkself were beaten 1-0 by Gladbach in his first game but then hit back 3-0 in Wolfsburg last weekend.

No risk with Robben and Ribery

“We’re expecting a real battle this weekend,” Kovac continued, “We have to be careful there and can’t make any mistakes. We have to take care when we lose the ball because then they’re like a train. They swarm like bees.” FCB want to prevent that happening and dominate the opposition themselves. Despite this week beginning to run again, Kovac will have to do that without Corentin Tolisso as well as Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, who aren’t quite ready yet.

This, though, doesn’t change the respect Bosz has for Bayern. “They have a really good team,” the Leverkusen boss stated before adding, “But we also have a good team.” And for that reason he has no intention of sitting back on Saturday. The Dutchman has promised attacking football: “It’s two teams who like to get forward, and that’s always nice for the fans.” The Bayer coach looks like being without captain Lars Bender, which could see a return to the starting XI for former FCB man Mitchell Weiser.

After just a month in the job, Bosz appears pleased with his team. “We’re already playing at a high level,” he said in praise, but knows his side will need “a very high level to win against Bayern.” That is also the aim for the record champions while also having one eye on events in Frankfurt. “My former Eintracht boys know what they have to do,” Kovac joked.