Timo Werner will be looking for redemption when RB Leipzig travel to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga today. The 21-year-old striker missed the decisive penalty in the shootout as Bayern knocked Leipzig out of the German Cup on Wednesday.
Werner is expected to return to the starting eleven today, having started on the bench in midweek. He and his team will be out for immediate revenge in the Allianz Arena. Third in the table and just a point behind Bayern, victory would also see Leipzig edge ahead of their rivals in the Bundesliga title race.
Both sides currently sit behind league leaders Borussia Dortmund, who hope to return to winning ways when they host Hanover 96.  Emotions are sure to run high when RB Leipzig head to Munich, after tensions boiled over during Wednesday’s cup clash. Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick squabbled with Bayern players at half-time, while coach Ralph Hasenhuettl accused the referee of “double standards”.
The team played 65 of the 120 minutes with ten men on Wednesday, after Naby Keita’s red card, and Hasenhuettl is expected to rotate his exhausted squad. Werner, Lukas Klostermann and Diego Demme should all return to the starting line-up. “It will be a very difficult game (on Saturday),” said Leipzig forward Marcel Sabitzer.
“We will need to push ourselves to the limit. The only good thing is that Bayern have also had to play 120 minutes.”
Borussia Dortmund head to Hanover in good spirits today, having picked up their first win in four games with a midweek victory over Magdeburg. Dortmund still top the Bundesliga, but their five-point lead has evaporated in recent weeks, following defeat by RB Leipzig and a 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bosz had been accused of reckless tactics after the string of disappointing results, but vowed this week that he would not change his philosophy. “The system was working at the beginning of the season,” Bosz protested. “It was fun to watch, and fun for the players.” Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Goetze are expected to return to the starting team against Hanover.
Still bottom of the table and without a win this season, Cologne face an in-form Bayer Leverkusen side in the Rhine Derby today. After the shock departure of sporting director Joerg Schmadtke last week, victory in the cup against Hertha Berlin has given Cologne hope ahead of the derby. The relegation-threatened club have beaten their local rivals just once since 2011, and they should expect no mercy from Leverkusen this time around.”It sounds tough, but if Cologne are already on the ground, we should keep kicking them,” said Leverkusen striker Julian Brandt.
Thorgan Hazard’s winner fired Borussia Moenchengladbach into the next round of the German Cup on Tuesday, and the Belgian has promised more of the same against Hoffenheim this weekend. “This was just the beginning,” said Hazard. “I’ve struggled to take my chances lately, so it was a liberation to score.”
Victory would see Gladbach overtake Hoffenheim, who are currently in fourth, but have won just one of their last five competitive games.
Fellow top four contenders Schalke host Wolfsburg, with their hopes pinned on rising midfield star Leon Goretzka. The 22-year-old has scored Schalke’s opener in each of the last three games, and is looking ever more likely to secure a place in Germany’s World Cup squad next summer. Goretzka missed out on Schalke’s cup win over Wiesbaden in midweek due to muscular problems, but is expected to return to action against Wolfsburg.

Fixtures
(all times 1330 GMT unless stated)
Today: Bayer Leverkusen v Cologne, Hanover 96 v Borussia Dortmund, Hertha Berlin v Hamburg, Hoffenheim v Borussia Moenchengladbach, Schalke 04 v Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich v RB Leipzig (1630)
Tomorrow: Werder Bremen v Augsburg (1530), Stuttgart v Freiburg (1800)