Champions League
2025-03-05 - Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Football; UEFA Champions League: Round of 16
Allianz Arena - Munich
Wednesday, 05th March 2025 - kickoff 21:00 CET
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich is in fantastic form before this big German duel in the Champions League. Last weekend they won against VfB Stuttgart 1-3 away, and in the week before, they thrashed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 at home (their 10th straight home win)! That means that they are super-confident in front of this game.
The amazing fact is that Bayern Munich has remained unbeaten in 17 of its 18 home games across the Bundesliga and Champions League this season. They won 15 of those, and curiously, the only defeat came against Bayer Leverkusen, 0-1, in the DFB Cup.
Another incredible thing about Bayern Munich is that they scored 3 or more goals(!) in eight of their last nine games in all competitions.
Not many changes in the line-up are expected, so expect coach Kompany to field pretty much the same starting eleven that easily beat VfB Stuttgart a few days ago.
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen has played 37 games across all competitions this season, remaining unbeaten in 34. Their only three defeats came against RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga and against Liverpool and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Bayer Leverkusen goes to Munich unbeaten in eight competitive games, winning five and drawing three.
Interestingly, Bayer Leverkusen won only once this season at away grounds in the Champions League. After beating Feyenoord in the first away game, they have gone winless since, drawing against Brest and losing against Liverpool and Atletico Madrid.
However, their confidence should be high now, especially after winning 0-2 against Holstein Kiel and 1-4 against Eintracht Frankfurt in their most recent two games.
The Betting Verdict
Surprisingly or not, Bayern Munich is winless against Bayer Leverkusen in six straight duels!
The Bavarians have lost three and drawn three against them in the last six, with their latest Bundesliga game played in mid-February ending in a goalless draw.
However, this game will have a different feel than the one in the Bundesliga. It is for the first time since the Wembley Champions League final in 2013 (Bayern Munich against Borussia Dortmund), where two German sides face each other in a European knockout match.
I believe Bayern Munich will be much stronger now than they were in the goalless draw against Bayer Leverkusen a couple of weeks ago. They almost locked the Bundesliga title, and now they chase the European glory.
Overall chances are 50-50, but I cannot see Bayern Munich go seven straight games winless against Bayer Leverkusen.
Perhaps a narrow win here will set the stage for an excellent return leg in Leverkusen, so I recommend backing Bayern Munich to win the first game.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bayern Munich 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
Take Bayern Munich to win at odds of 1.80 with BetFred
