Bayern meet surprise-package Leipzig as unrest rattles Dortmund
>> BERLIN: Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig meet in a top-of-the-table clash while unrest rattles Borussia Dortmund.
Ralph Hasenhuettl said his RB Leipzig have a score to settle at home to Bayern Munich today.
Second-placed Leipzig were drubbed 3-0 in Munich last December and want revenge at the Red Bull Arena.
Both RB and 2016/17 Bundesliga winners Bayern have qualified for next season’s Champions League, but pride is at stake
“There couldn’t be a better opponent to motivate us and to settle a score from the first match,” said Hasenhuettl.
“They will want to demonstrate their supremacy and will certainly be at their best.”
Leipzig hope to have defender Willi Orban fit after an ankle injury.
Bayern will field third-choice goalkeeper Tom Starke with Manuel Neuer (foot) and Sven Ulreich [elbow injured], while defender Javi Martinez is out with a fractured collarbone.
Borussia Dortmund are at Augsburg with speculation raging that head coach Thomas Tuchel may quit at the end of the season.
CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has said their relationship is strained over the decision to play their Champions League quarter-final first-leg a day after a bomb attack on their team bus last month.
Tuchel, 43, complained after the 3-2 defeat by Monaco that he had not been involved in the decision “at all”, but Watzke has said that is not true.
“The rumours are spreading, but I’m not commenting on them at the moment, because I am concentrating with my team on the last few weeks,” said Tuchel, who has a contract until June 2018.
Third-placed Dortmund must beat Augsburg in their quest for a direct Champions League place.