Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen side has made a thoroughly impressive start to their Bundesliga season, having won all three of their matches thus far and placing themselves at the top of the league table. Under Xabi, Leverkusen is scoring goals for fun and has shown why they can be serious title contenders with Bayern Munich this season. The two sides that are currently first and second in the Bundesliga are set to square off in the maiden match of week four of the Bundesliga season and Alonso is very much looking forward to make a visit to the club where he once played.
It is still not clear how much of a part both Jamal Musiala and Joshua Kimmich will play in the Friday night kickoff at the Allianz Arena. Each player is coming back from minor injury problems. Either missing out would be a blow for Bayern and a boost for Leverkusen, but Alonso admitted in his press conference ahead of the match that Die Werkself are very much planning as if Kimmich will 100% play.
Of course, Kimmich is a player that Alonso knows very well, having both played alongside him, and managed sides against him. ““I know him very, very well. When he came from Leipzig, we were together from the first day. He was a young player but it was already clear that he had a great future and now he is the boss of Bayern. He has developed a lot, also mentally,” he explained of Bayern’s number (via @iMiaSanMia).
If Kimmich isn’t fit enough to start, or even play at all at Leverkusen, there are certainly different tactical options that Thomas Tuchel will have, which Alonso is well aware of. “We’ll see what happens, but normally he’ll (Kimmich) be on the pitch. They have a few options. [Konrad] Laimer can also play in midfield, like [Noussair] Mazraoui did with Morocco or [Matthijs] de Ligt in the last minutes against Gladbach. But we expect him (Kimmich) to play tomorrow,” the Leverkusen manager explained.
