Leipzig vs Bayern: An Unlikely Top of the Table Clash

BUNDESLIGA

When the fixtures for the Bundesliga were announced last year, few ball fans would have thought that a clash between rookies RB Leipzig and record champions Bayern Munich on the second-last Match-day would be a top-of-the-table clash.

The fact that Bayern Munich won a fifth consecutive Bundesliga title and their 27th overall with three games to spare comes as no surprise, but that the club from eastern Germany need just one point more to secure a second place finish in their first-ever season in the top flight is nothing short of a sensation.

Both sides go into the game on Saturday in the Red Bull Arena on the back of victories.
Bayern ended Darmstadt’s stay in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win, while Leipzig ensured their place in the Champions League group phase next season with a 4-1 victory at Hertha Berlin.

Star striker Timo Werner was again the man of the match for Leipzig with two goals, before substitute Davie Selke struck late for his first Bundesliga brace.

RB Leipzig Sporting Director, Ralf Rangnick, said that the victory against Berlin placed their match against Bayern into a different dimension. “It has changed everything. Now that we know that we will play in the Champions League next season, we have no pressure against Bayern.

“To be able to play two Bundesliga matches as a promoted team without having to pick up three points is a privilege. What we have achieved stands above all at the moment. The team earned that.”
For Philipp Lahm the game in Leipzig will be the second-last of his career, as he is to retire at the end of the season. Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti paid a tribute to the world champion. “I would be glad to have 20 Philipp Lahms in my squad. He is so professional.”

The Bayern captain was rested against Darmstadt, but it seems likely that the Italian will field him in the high-profile match.

According to the Sports Director of StarTimes Media Division Cole He Xin, Lahm is a crowd favourite throughout Africa. “After leading Germany to the World Cup title in Brazil, he has become an icon of German football.”
“I am sure just about everybody who has the opportunity to do so, will tune in to watch what will undoubtedly be a great Bundesliga game between two excellent sides.

“It will be Philipp Lahm’s last away game in the Bundesliga and that alone already makes it a must-see fixture.”
The game will be broadcast live on the StarTimes World Football channel at 15:30 CAT on Saturday.