Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig – Betting Tips and Bundesliga Preview

It is probably a case of the new pretenders challenging the old guard in this important Bundesliga fixture with current second-placed team RB Leipzig yet to win the coveted league title and now facing leaders Bayern Munich, winners of the title on 28 occasions including the past seven times. When both teams met in East Germany earlier this season, the outcome was a 1-1 draw, but the current champions enter this match as the more in-form team and victory over their nearest rivals would allow a comfortable lead at the top of the table. Can RB cope with the pressure of the occasion and deny their illustrious hosts?

Bayern Munich entered the Winter break by winning their last three Bundesliga games and scoring late goals to claim two of the latter victories. The reigning champions had performed with more inconsistency than usual during the previous months. However, their form from during the second half of the campaign has been impressive with four successive competitive victories and at least three goals scored per match. A 4-3 midweek DFB cup win against Hoffenheim appears closer than it was as Bayern were 4-1 ahead with ten minutes remaining, although that late sign of defensive lapses may offer some hope to future opponents.

For RB Leipzig, a sudden mini-slump in form will be a concern for manager Julian Nagelsmann especially after losing twice at Eintracht Frankfurt this year both in Bundesliga action and a 3-1 DFB Cup tie on Tuesday evening. RB also needed a very late equaliser to claim a point against fellow title challengers Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend as defensive issues continue to be a worry. Just one clean sheet has been registered since mid-November and although a potent attack has helped the East German club to offset those problems, Leipzig will need to be a tighter unit in this contest.

Team News

Niklas Sule (knee) and Ivan Perisic (ankle) will be unavailable for Bayern Munich while Javi Martinez (thigh muscle) and Kingsley Coman (knee) are also struggling with injuries.

A knee injury is currently affecting Willi Orban at Leipzig and he is a doubtful starter alongside Kevin Kampl (ankle).

Prediction

Winning eight successive games prior to this game and scoring at least twice per match has ensured that Bayern Munich will start as clear favourites for this match. However, visitors RB Leipzig have been a very capable team for much of the campaign and can be a very dangerous counter-attacking outfit when using the pace of Timo Werner. Despite their current minor loss of form, a 2-0 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt last month is the only occasion in which they have failed to find the net this term. Therefore, a good bet may be for Bayern Munich to win and Both Teams to Score priced at 6/5 with Bet365.

A second pick is for Over 3.5 goals to be scored offered at 8/11 by Bet365. In the last thirteen competitive games played by RB, the 2-0 loss at Frankfurt and a 3-0 win at Fortuna Dusseldorf represent the only times when four or more goals have not been scored in any of their matches. Similarly with Bayern, there has been a glut of goals scored in their games this year with a minimum of four per match and mainly netted by the Bavarian team. It is also worth noting that the in-form hosts have found the net in every fixture this season.