The UEFA Champions League round of 16 sees Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen pitted against each other yet again, but only one Bundesliga team can progress on the road to this year's final in Munich. After two draws and one win for Leverkusen in their meetings so far this season, who will emerge victorious this time?

Follow build-up and LIVE coverage of Wednesday's first leg!

The season so far

While performances have dropped slightly compared to last season’s annus mirabilis (how could they not?), Leverkusen have been solid again this term, trailing only Bayern in the table for much of the campaign. Xabi Alonso’s reigning champions have lost just once so far, against RB Leipzig on Matchday 2, collecting 53 points from 24 games and already looking a safe bet for Champions League qualification. The Werkself boast the Bundesliga's second-best attack, the third-best defence and rank second of all clubs in terms of sprints, showing there’s still plenty of fight in them yet.

After finishing third last term, Bayern are back with a vengeance, setting a blistering pace under new coach Vincent Kompany as they bid to reassert domestic dominance. The record champions have collected 61 points after 24 games – the joint fifth-highest tally of all-time by this stage in a season – and also lead the division for goals scored (72), fewest conceded (20), shots (449), average possession (64 percent) and more. Since losing to Mainz on Matchday 14, the record champions are on a run of 10 games unbeaten in the league, most recently beating VfB Stuttgart 3-1 away from home.

Watch: Every goal between Bayern and Leverkusen this season

Goals for, goals against

Leverkusen boast 16 different goalscorers so far this season, with top marksman Patrik Schick leading the way with 16 of his own. The Czech striker has been in prolific form this term, averaging one league goal every 60 minutes on the pitch to take his all-time Bundesliga tally to 69 strikes. That number was given a huge boost on Matchday 15, when Schick put four past Freiburg in a 5-1 shellacking. "What should I say? Four goals. I must congratulate Patrik. Not only for the goals, but also his work off the ball, his counter-pressing. He helps the team," said Alonso proudly of his rangy target man. 

The Leverkusen coach will also be thrilled to have Victor Boniface back after he returned to action on Matchday 20, following more than three months on the sidelines. The Nigeria international scored the opening goal against Hoffenheim, taking him to 30 goals in 50 competitive outings for Leverkusen. Boniface would also score an extra-time winner in Leverkusen's DFB Cup tie against Cologne to seal progress to the semi-finals with a 3-2 win.

When asked if he might be willing to field both players together, now the pair are fully fit, Alonso labelled the prospect “a possibility”. Watch this space, should Leverkusen need extra firepower against Bayern on Wednesday, they will have it.

Watch: Boniface is back and Schick can't stop scoring

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Bayern, meanwhile, boast the division's top scorer, Harry Kane. The Englishman has already struck 21 times this season, including nine penalties – the highest tally of spot-kicks scored by a single player for 25 years. Kane scored two from 12 yards against Werder Bremen on Matchday 21 and is responsible for almost a third of his side’s Bundesliga tally this term. 

In terms of Expected Goals (xG), Bayern are 5.85 up on a projection of 66.15 (72 scored), but are in the red for xG conceded (18.43, 20 conceded). Leverkusen are also overachieving in goals scored (49.82, 55 scored) and underperforming for goals conceded (22.75, 28). There’s work to be done at the back for both.

Watch: Harry Kane: "I'm improving as the season goes on"

Aside from Kane, Jamal Musiala has also been a reliable source of goals and industry this season, hitting the back of the net 11 times and providing two assists in 21 appearances. The 21-year-old has rapidly developed into a permanent fixture in this Bayern team and has a knack of scoring important goals in big games – such as the late strike against Cologne that delivered the Meisterschale on the final day of the 2022/23 campaign. 

Elsewhere, Joshua Kimmich, who is a doubt for the first leg, has been busy covering every blade of grass that he can, ranking fourth for distance covered (277.2 km). Added to that, Minjae Kim and Dayot Upamecano have been pillars of calm in the rearguard – the defenders both appear in the league’s top three averages for successful passes from open play. 

Leverkusen’s standout performer, once again, has been talismanic playmaker Florian Wirtz. The 21-year-old leads the Bundesliga in assists (10) and duels won (334), while he’s third for sprints (705), showing he’s a menace for opponents both in and out of possession. His tally of 10 provisions also means that he has recorded 10 or more assists in back-to-back seasons for the first time.

Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka has been his usual industrious self, covering the second most ground of any player so far this campaign, behind St. Pauli's Jackson Irvine.

Florian Wirtz (l.) has been in superb form at home and abroad in 2024/25. - IMAGO/UWE KRAFT

The coaches

Alonso and Kompany represent two of the brightest young coaches in German football, and each has much to endear himself to his chosen fanbase. 

Alonso achieved messiah status at Leverkusen last season, after leading Die Werkself to their very first Meisterschale in 2023/24. Back in May, they also became the first side to go unbeaten for an entire campaign. This season was always going to be a bit trickier, as opponents figured out ways of combating Leverkusen’s strengths, but performances have still been good. Evidenced by their attacking display in their stalemate against Bayern in the league, where Kompany's side were kept on the backfoot by Leverkusen's pressing and relentless attack.

The Spaniard is one of just nine men to have won a Meisterschale as both a player and a coach and has still lost just eight of his 81 matches (less than 10 percent) since taking charge of Leverkusen in October 2022. 

Watch: Highlights of the most recent meeting in February

Kompany, meanwhile, has defied all expectations since arriving in the Bundesliga from relegated English Premier League outfit Burnley last summer. The Belgian has overseen an average of 64 percent possession during his Bundesliga reign so far – more than Pep Guardiola’s sides of old – and boasts a 2.54 points-per-game average. The latter is the highest of any coach in Bundesliga history (again surpassing Guardiola’s record, 2.52). Meanwhile, his team have conceded just 44 shots on target in their 24 matches so far; another record, and an indication that Kompany’s just as effective coaching his team from a defensive standpoint. However, he's yet to beat Alonso as a coach in three attempts across the league and DFB Cup.

Could the motivation of a final at the Allianz Arena be the spark that helps Kompany finally get one over his Spanish counterpart on the European stage? 

About the clubs

FC Bayern München

Allianz Arena

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

BayArena