Half-time reading

Half time: Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Bayern Munich

45+2 min Kane collided with a defender after that header and needs treatment. He’s on his feet now but he’s feeling his jaw as runs round the touchline.

45 min Olise’s curling free-kick is headed over by the stretching Kane, though he was flagged offside after the event.

44 min Palacios fouls Musiala 25 yards from goal. The free-kick is a fair way to the left, probably too wide for a shot…

43 min Bayern haven’t had a shot off target, never mind on. Apparently that hasn’t happened in a full half of a Bundesliga match since records began in the 1990s.

40 min A draw would be a good result for Bayern but Vincent Kompany can’t be happy with their attacking performance so far. They’ve been passive and imprecise with the ball.

39 min Frimpong surges past Ito and is cynically taken out,. A clear yellow card. Frimpong was running through on goal but Kim was nearby so it wasn’t a clear goalscoring opportunity.

36 min Mukiele wins a corner for Leverkusen. Grimaldo takes, Kim heads clear.

35 min Leverkusen continue to be the more dangerous side. After a nice passing move, Tella’s snapshot from 22 yards is blocked.

32 min Wirtz tries to score from inside his own half! Neuer was miles off his line and Wirtz took the shot early. He got the weight right but it faded past the far post.

31 min This isn’t news but Florian Wirtz is such a good footballer. Everything he does is so classy.

28 min Bayern keep the ball for a bit to calm the game down. They haven’t threatened much in the final third though, just that early run from Olise (we still haven’t seen a replay).

Now Tella hits the bar!

23 min Talking of beautiful first touches…

Frimpong hits the bar!

20 min Grimaldo’s corner is headed away.

20 min That’s better from Leverkusen. Wirtz pulls out to the left and plays a lovely pass into the underlapping Hincapie, whose cutback hits Laimer and goes behind for a corner.

19 min If this game was being played on Hackney Marshes on a Sunday morning, I think I’d go home and watch Dawson’s Creek. It’s been a very poor start.

18 min Tella, the brightest attacker on either side so far, makes a good angled run into the area to receive Xhaka’s quick free-kick. He hits a first-time shot on the turn that is well blocked by the sliding Kim.

16 min Xabi Alonso shows his irritation when Kim Min-jae doesn’t get booked for a foul on Tella. Not sure it merited a yellow card but it’s a reflection of the irritable mood in the stadium.

14 min There are plenty of challenges flying in. Musiala was limping a moment ago but he seems okay now.

13 min “What are Bayern doing that folk wisdom tells me England signally fail to do?” wonders Stephen Knowles. “Or, to rephrase, is Kane a washed-up, immobile antique who England should bin for Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins et al, or still an utterly lethal, elite player as the statistics would suggest?”

I haven’t seen Bayern enough to comment but one obvious difference is that their wide players are quicker and make more runs in behind. Also: they’re not playing in June.

11 min Hincapie is booked for a bruising scissor tackle on Upamecano, which leads to a bit of pushing and shoving from the players on both sides.

10 min At the other end, Upamecano stretches to make an important tackle on Tella in the Bayern area.

9 min Laimer finds Olise in a bit of space on the right. He cuts inside, past one defender, and is strongly tackled just inside the penalty area. Olise looks to the referee but it looked like a fair challenge. We haven’t seen a replay though.

8 min The match still hasn’t settled down. Bayern look happy to play at a slow pace for now and try to quieten the crowd.

5 min Tella looks pleadingly at the assistant referee after a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge with Upamecano on the right wing. Nothing doing.

4 min No openings to report. Leverkusen have made a fast start, particularly without the ball.

1 min Bayern, in their cream change strip, kick off from right to left as we watch.

“Hi Rob,” begins Joe Pearson. “Has anyone ever failed up better than Vincent Kompany?”

You’re not into politics, are you?

A Bayern win tonight would be a devastating blow to Leverkusen – and to the banter industry, as it would effectively clinch the first major trophy of Harry Kane’s career. He has 29 goals from 29 games in all competitions.

A quick reminder of the teams

Bayer Leverkusen (possible 4-2-3-1) Hradecky; Mukiele, Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Xhaka, Palacios; Frimpong, Wirtz, Grimaldo; Tella.
Substitutes: Kovar, Arthur, Andrich, Aleix Garcia, Buendia, Hofmann, Schick, Adil, Boniface.

Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1) Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Ito; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Musiala, Coman; Kane.
Substitutes: Urbig, Guerreiro, Dier, Stanisic, Boey, Goretzka, Muller, Gnabry, Sane.

“We’ve still not won there since Big Dunc scored in 1992 and Jim McLean was manager!” is the subject of Simon McMahon’s email.

Dundee United have done their bit for Scottish teams in Europe by allowing Celtic to score two first half goals then use the next hour for light training and rest ahead of next week’s Champions League playoff second leg in Munich. Well done United, selfless. I doubt Leverkusen will be as helpful to Bayern…?

You doubt right.

The state of play before kick-off

Team news

Preamble