Pavlović Starts as Bayern and Leipzig Name Full-Strength XIs for Allianz Arena Opener

Bayern München and RB Leipzig have named their starting XIs for their Bundesliga fixture at the Allianz Arena, and both coaches have gone with a 4-2-3-1.

Aleksandar Pavlović starts for Bayern. Antonio Nusa, Brajan Gruda, Castello Lukeba and Christopher Nkunku all start for Leipzig. Those five names are the spine of the team sheets, and they tell you more about how this match will be played than the shapes alone.

Pavlović in the Bayern XI is the clearest signal of how the home side intend to control the middle. In a 4-2-3-1, the double pivot is where the game is either won or allowed to drift, and Pavlović's presence there gives Bayern a passer who can set the tempo rather than simply react to it.

For Leipzig, Nusa and Gruda both fit naturally into the attacking band of a 4-2-3-1. Nusa's directness and Gruda's willingness to drift into pockets give Leipzig two different ways to attack the same Bayern structure. If Bayern's full-backs push high, that pair is where the space will be.

Lukeba starts in defence for Leipzig, and his job is the unglamorous one: hold the line in a back four that will spend long stretches defending against a Bayern side that expects to have the ball. Nkunku is the reference point that makes Leipzig's 4-2-3-1 function as more than a defensive block.

When both teams line up 4-2-3-1, the match becomes a series of duels rather than a puzzle of mismatches. The two double pivots face each other. The two attacking bands occupy the same vertical corridors. The two back fours are asked to defend the same kind of service.

The consequence is that individual quality in the half-spaces decides more than structural surprise. Bayern will look to Pavlović to find the players ahead of him between Leipzig's midfield and defensive lines. Leipzig will look to Nusa and Gruda to carry the ball through those same gaps when Bayern's possession breaks down.

There is no formation edge to lean on here. Both coaches have chosen the same platform, which means the pre-match question is not who has the cleverer shape but who executes the shared one better.

Bayern at home in the Bundesliga is a fixture that carries its own weight regardless of the month. Leipzig arriving with Nusa, Gruda, Lukeba and Nkunku all starting suggests they have come to compete in the game rather than simply absorb it.

For Bayern, the selection of Pavlović points to a midfield that wants to dictate rather than destroy. For Leipzig, the inclusion of Nusa and Gruda points to a team that wants to attack the spaces Bayern leave when they commit bodies forward.

Kick-off at the Allianz Arena will show which of the two identical shapes bends first. The team sheets have set the terms. The players named in them will decide whether the symmetry holds or breaks.