Leverkusen – Bayern Munich

The newly crowned German champion will take a step toward the second national trophy.

A German Cup semifinal clash will take place in Leverkusen and could be treated as an early final. Here the champions of Germany from the last two seasons will meet. Even though the glory of Xabi Alonso's team from the season before last has been completely eroded over the last two years of football. Today's Bayer Leverkusen are struggling in the Bundesliga to secure a place in the Champions League, suffering unacceptable slips. Nevertheless, Bayer won the German Cup in the 2023/2024 season. Meanwhile, Bayern, without this trophy, have been competing since 2020 when they clinched it in the final against Bayer. Since then the Munich club has not only reached the final and won the trophy but has often been eliminated in the rounds of 16 and the quarterfinals. The current season under Vincent Kompany's leadership sees Bayern playing in a way that leaves no doubt about their pursuit of the highest goals in all competitions they participate in. Bayer reached the semifinal stage of the competition without particular problems. In the four previous rounds, Bayer beat Grossaspach (4:0), Paderborn (4:2), Borussia Dortmund (1:0) and St. Pauli (3:0) in regular time. Bayern had difficulties only in the first round when they had to score the decisive goal against Wehen in the 94th minute (3:2). Subsequently the national champions beat Cologne (4:1), Union Berlin (3:2) and Leipzig (2:0). Bookmakers named the visitors as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.54 on their win. Bayer were fairly knocked out of the Champions League thanks to Arsenal from London. In the league, with four games to go Bayer were four points behind the Champions League zone, which practically deprives them of chances to participate in the elite European competition next season. Essentially, the German Cup is Bayer's last chance to achieve success. However, Bayern today is the dominant club in the country with such ambitions in Europe. With their victory over Stuttgart last round, Kompany's team clinched the Bundesliga title, something no one doubted for a long time. Since Bayern reached the Champions League semifinal, Munich are aiming for a treble. Bayer will not be able to stand in the way of such a perfect football machine.