Bayern travel to Leipzig with Sommer for opening clash

A top-of-the-table clash to start the new year! Bundesliga leaders FC Bayern travel to third-placed RB Leipzig on Friday evening (live text and free Web Radio from 20:30 CET on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app) on Matchday 16. “Of course it’s a cracker, a top match straight away,” stated CEO Oliver Kahn. Victory in Leipzig would see Julian Nagelsmann’s side further cement their place at the top of the table and claim the title of Hinrunde (first half of the season) champions with a game to spare. Our preview has all the key information on the meeting at the Red Bull Arena.

We spoke to Dayot Upamecano ahead of the trip to his former club:

The situation for Bayern

After over two months without a competitive fixture, Bayern are finally playing for points again. The Munich men were on an excellent run before the World Cup and winter break, winning 10 consecutive games in all competitions. That impressive form in autumn has given FCB a small lead at the table summit, four points ahead of closest challengers SC Freiburg and six ahead of Leipzig in third. Victory on Friday would guarantee that Bayern finish the first half of the season in first place.

Nagelsmann’s men have prepared for the second part of the campaign with an intensive training camp in Doha as well a friendly against FC Red Bull Salzburg. FCB have also signed a new goalkeeper just before the first game of the year in Yann Sommer. The 34-year-old trained with the team on Thursday and has travelled to Saxony.

The opponents: RB Leipzig

Leipzig were also in outstanding form before the break: they’re unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions, having won 11 of them. Four Bundesliga wins on the spin lifted them to third place in the standings. “They’re in very good form under Marco Rose – points-wise the best team along with us,” described Nagelsmann in Wednesday’s press conference, adding: “They’re good from set plays, are very good in transition and extremely dangerous on the counter because they have a good structure in their positioning.” The head-to-head record clearly favours Bayern, though. Of the 15 previous encounters between the two sides, the Bavarians have won 10 and they’re also unbeaten in the last 10.

We’ve taken a look back at previous clashes with RB:

The team news for Leipzig vs. Bayern

Long-term absentees Sadio Mané, Bouna Sarr, Lucas Hernández, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Neuer are unavailable for Bayern. That aside, Nagelsmann expects to have everyone available. “Leon Goretzka is still feeling something, but it’s nothing that rules him out. It’s also looking good with Kingsley Coman and Matthijs de Ligt,” said the 35-year-old coach.

Leipzig are without goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi and top scorer Christopher Nkunku, who are both recovering from ligament tears.

All the stats on the match against Leipzig:

What the coaches say

Julian Nagelsmann: “It’s an important game, not least in terms of the table. Leipzig are one of the main rivals for the title. Nine points would be a good cushion. If we lose, it’s getting very tight again and then we’ll be under more pressure in the Bundesliga than if we win. I generally like being tested early on and getting straight down to business. We have a good programme and are looking forward to it.”

Marco Rose (RB Leipzig): “We want to put in a good performance and win. That requires a brave display and also a little bit of luck at the right moment, but we don’t want to reduce it to luck. We want to increase the likelihood of us beating Bayern with our play more than anything. You need to be extremely resilient without the ball, defend with passion and use the opportunities on the counter. It’s important we don’t let it become a classic slugfest. You have to take your chances to score and defend your goal with everything you have.”

Watch Julian Nagelsmann’s pre-match press conference in full: