We kick off in about two hours, with Bayern looking to extend our winning run and our lead at the top of the table. Goal.com purports to have the following starting line-ups:
BAYERN
Neuer
Lahm
Badstuber
Boateng
Rafinha
Schweinsteiger
Tymoschuk
Ribery
Kroos
Müller
Gomez
LEVERKUSEN
Leno
Castro
Reinartz
Toprak
Balitsch
Sam
Bender
Augusto
Rolfes
Ballarabi
Kiessling
Keep in mind this is goal.com, so who knows who reliable this is. If true, Ballack isn't even on the bench for Leverkusen, while Robben is dressed and on the bench for Bayern. Also, note that I've rendered Kiessling's name with a double "s," because I can't find the German Eszett symbol.
A big mid-week match looms, but for now the boys will need to put that out of their minds and just win today. These Bundi matches against good competition are important as well, and a poor performance today would put everyone in a tough mindset for the Man City game. Hopefully an early goal for Bayern will force Leverkusen to do the heavy lifting.
This is on ESPN 3 for those in the states. Viva viva FC Bayern!
* * * *
Well, that was pretty much everything we could have asked for. The shut-out streak continues for Neuer and the defense, 3 more points in the Bundi, and the perfect warm-up for a big mid-week game.
Here's the opener from Thomas:
And van Buyten's:
Still looking for the Robben goal clip. Back with that, and some more analysis, later on.