Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich - Pep Guardiola wary of Bayer Leverkusen threat

Posted Friday, February 05, 2016 by PA

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has warned about the size of the task his side face when they travel to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, with Stefan Kiessling his reference.

The 6ft 3in forward will lead Leverkusen's attack at the BayArena against a depleted Bayern defence which Guardiola hopes will be able to hold firm.

Jerome Boateng, Javi Martinez, Medhi Benatia and new recruit Serdar Tasci are all absent, although Guardiola admits that even with a free choice of defenders, they would struggle with Leverkusen's aerial threat.

"We could have problems if Leverkusen send a lot of high balls into the box, but then again every player would have a problem against a player like Stefan Kiessling," he said.

"Leverkusen are on a roll and we are up against one of the best teams in Germany.

"Bayern have won only one of their last eight games against Leverkusen, and that shows how tough it will be."

Leverkusen are not only about Stefan Kiessling either.

"They've got Chicharito, who has an incredible eye for goal, and [Kevin] Kampl is in great form too," said the Catalan, who also insisted that his move to Manchester City in the summer would not interfere with his current task of winning trophies with Bayern.

"I am like a woman, I can control both situations. I can think of both situations, so it's no problem for me."

It could yet become a problem if Bayern's eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga starts to shrink, and if things do not go according to plan against Juventus in the Champions League.

There have been numerous off-field disturbances in Munich of late, although Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt is only concerning himself with the facts, which are Bayern's recent results: two wins out of two in 2016.

"To believe that Bayern can't play football any more just because a few things were written in the papers would be like believing a butterfly can make butter," Schmidt said at a press conference.

"Everybody has these kind of things - we have them, and Bayern have them. We mustn't read too much into that."

Breaking down a Bayern side who have lost only once in the Bundesliga this season is therefore going to be a "major challenge", according to Schmidt.

"They are the best team in Germany, and we are looking forward to it," he said. "Unlike in the reverse fixture, when we still had the tiring Lazio game in our legs, the situation is different this time.

"You could tell we did not have what it takes then, but my lads are in very good shape now.

"We've prepared really well, and we want to win this game."

Unlike Guardiola, Schmidt has a full squad to choose from apart from long-term absentees Lars Bender and Charles Aranguiz.