Opposition analysis: RB Leipzig vs FC Bayern Munich
The Bundesliga returns | Friday night sell-out at the Red Bull Arena
RB Leipzig vs FC Bayern München
The wait is finally over! The Red Bulls are back in action on Friday night (20:30 CET) as the Bundesliga returns. Record champions FC Bayern visit the Red Bull Arena on matchday 16. We’ve taken a closer look at this weekend’s opponents.
Everything to know on RBL vs FCB
Form
FC Bayern entered the winter break on the back of a run of ten consecutive victories across all competitions and occupy first place in the Bundesliga table with 34 points from 15 matches. Their last outing in the league came over two months ago, however: a 2-0 win away against Schalke.
During the break in fixtures, Bayern played one friendly game, which ended in a 4-4 draw against Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg thanks to goals from Sané, Coman, Tel and Ibrahimovic. Before that, Julian Nagelsmann’s team had completed a six-day training camp in Doha, Qatar.
Team
Key players
Jamal Musiala has enjoyed a fantastic start to the 2022/23 season and leads Bayern in goals and assists. Despite being the regular in the Bayern first team, the 19-year-old showed his class in 2022 and was rewarded with a call-up to the Germany squad for the World Cup alongside club and country teammate Serge Gnabry, who is second behind Musiala in goal involvements for the Bundesliga champions.
New additions
January arrival Daley Blind brings a wealth of experience to Nagelsmann’s side. The 99-time Netherlands international represented his country at the recent World Cup in Qatar and has spent his career at Ajax (2010 – 2014 and 2018 – 2022) and Manchester United (2014 – 2018). Blind can play in a number of defensive positions but mainly operates as a left back.
Bayern's Bundesliga top goal involvements:
∙ Jamal Musiala (9 goals, 7 assists)
∙ Serge Gnabry (8/4)
∙ Sadio Mané (6/3)
∙ Leroy Sané (5/4)
Leipzig's Bundesliga top goal involvements:
∙ Christopher Nkunku (12 goals, 3 assists)
∙ Dominik Szoboszlai (1/7)
∙ André Silva (2/5)
∙ Timo Werner (4/2)
Absentees
Bayern will be without Manuel Neuer (broken lower leg), Lucas Hernández (ACL), Noussair Mazraoui (coronavirus) and Sadio Mané (calf) on Friday.
Matthijs de Ligt, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Leroy Sané have returned training and should be available.
RB Leipzig’s current team news can be found here.
Head coach
Bayern’s head coach Julian Nagelsmann is a familiar face to anyone at RB Leipzig. The 35-year-old spent two years in charge of the Red Bulls between summer 2019 and summer 2021. Nagelsmann lifted the Bundesliga in his first season as head coach of the Bavarian side 2022.
Nagelsmann’s first Bundesliga head coaching experience came at TSG Hoffenheim (2016 – 2019), whom he lead to the Champions League in the 16/17 season.
RBL fixtures at a glance
Matchday 15
Saturday 11/12/22, 02.30 p.m.
Bremen
0 : 1
RB Leipzig
Matchday 16
Friday 01/20/23, 07.30 p.m.
RB Leipzig
0 : 1
Bayern
Matchday 17
Tuesday 01/24/23, 05.30 p.m.
Schalke 04
0 : 4
RB Leipzig
Matchday 18
Friday 01/27/23, 07.30 p.m.
RB Leipzig
1 : 0
Stuttgart
Round of 16
Wednesday 02/01/23, 05.00 p.m.
RB Leipzig
2 : 0
Hoffenheim
Head to head
Bayern have the better record between the two sides, with 7 wins, 4 draws and one loss from 12 meetings. The games have often been exciting clashes, such as the 3-3 draw in Munich in December 2020.
The last time the two sides met was the DFL Supercup in 2022. Fans at the Red Bull Arena were treated to a footballing spectacle. While Bayern ran out 5-3 winners, goals from Marcel Halstenberg, Christopher Nkunku and Dani Olmo saw Leipzig bring the game back to 4-3 after trailing 3-0 at half time. Leroy Sané’s goal in the eight minute of added time sealed the game for the Bavarians.
Most recent games
∙ 30th July 2022 | DFL Supercup: RB Leipzig 3–5 FC Bayern München
∙ 5th February 2022 | Bundesliga: FC Bayern München 3–2 RB Leipzig
∙ 11th September 2021 | Bundesliga: RB Leipzig 1–4 FC Bayern München
∙ 3rd April 2021 | Bundesliga: RB Leipzig 0–1 FC Bayern München