Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich meet German champions Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday evening, when only one team can progress to the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals.

Match preview

Ahead of a high-profile cup contest with their conquerors of last season, Bayern Munich played out the 136th instalment of Der Klassiker at the weekend, when Jamal Musiala's late strike salvaged a draw against old foes Borussia Dortmund.

His intervention preserved Bayern's unbeaten away record in the Bundesliga, but they did finally see the end of a seven-match winning run across all competitions, in which they scored 18 goals and kept seven clean sheets.

Vincent Kompany's men had previously beaten 10-man Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League thanks to a first-half header from Kim Min-jae, and they are just a point behind the top eight with three games remaining - in addition to being six points clear in the Bundesliga.

Following 4-0 wins over Ulm and then Mainz in previous rounds, Die Roten now turn their attention back to the DFB-Pokal, which they have lifted no fewer than 20 times before.

However, almost unthinkably for Germany's most successful club, their last triumph came back in 2020, so they will be doubly keen to progress from the last 16 this time around.

Having recently gone undefeated against Bayern Munich in four consecutive games for the very first time, Bayer Leverkusen can head down to Bavaria with any inferiority complex well and truly behind them.

After beating Bayern to the title last season, Die Werkself then went on to claim the DFB-Pokal by beating underdogs Kaiserslautern in the final; completing their domestic campaign unbeaten. However, Leverkusen have only eliminated FCB once in seven previous cup contests - winning 4-2 at home in the 2009 quarter-finals.

This term, Xabi Alonso's side began their campaign with victory over Carl Zeiss Jena in August, before beating Elversberg 3-0 in round two.

Not only have Leverkusen scored in each of their last 34 DFB-Pokal away matches - an overall record in the competition's history - but the last time they failed to find the net in any German cup tie was way back in 2015, when they drew 0-0 with Bayern before being knocked out on penalties.

Alonso and co come into this clash between the teams having thumped Red Bull Salzburg 5-0 in the Champions League - keeping them above Tuesday's hosts in the table - and then edged past Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.

Patrik Schick's second-half winner secured a 2-1 success for the reigning champions, but they trail Bayern by nine points and three places with 11 games gone.

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:

Neuer; Boey, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Olise, Musiala, Coman; Muller

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Kovar; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich, Garcia, Grimaldo; Wirtz; Schick