With Bayern Munich on the verge of regaining the Bundesliga title, head coach Vincent Kompany is keeping talk of celebrations on ice, saying “we need to prepare for the game, not for a party.”
His team are preparing for Saturday’s Bundesliga clash at fifth-placed RB Leipzig where they can clinch a record-extending 34th title.
Kompany’s side hold an eight-point lead over last season’s unbeaten champions Bayer Leverkusen, who are second on 67 points, with three games remaining.
A win on Saturday would clinch it, but even matching Leverkusen’s result at Freiburg on Sunday would be enough for Bayern to secure the title.
“We want to win tomorrow and be champions,” Kompany told a news conference on Friday. “That’d be nice. Tomorrow is a final for us. Hopefully we do it. We’re preparing as normal for Leipzig. I’m not preparing any celebrations. I’m preparing for the game.
“They have a lot of talent and quality, lots of good young players. They lost in Frankfurt [last week]. I think they’ll now play with full energy again, look to attack.
“Teams make radical decisions against Bayern … I think we will get the best version of Leipzig as an opponent. It will be tough. We need to prepare for the game, not for a party.”
Bayern’s top scorer Harry Kane, looking to land a long-awaited first title of his career, is suspended but Kompany said the striker will likely travel with the team.
“Harry is one of our best players mentally. He knows his moment is coming. He’s exuding confidence,” Kompany said.
Kane has scored 36 goals and registered 12 assists in 44 appearances in all competitions for Bayern this season.
“I have not seen anything in training that even hints he is not even playing on Saturday. He’s trained well,” Kompany said.
“Maybe some guys will come with [us] to Leipzig … Harry probably won’t pass up the opportunity to come.”
In related news, defender Eric Dier has decided to leave Bayern at the end of the season following the expiration of his deal, sporting director Christoph Freund said on Friday.
The 31-year-old former England international joined Bayern on loan in January last year after a decade-long stay at Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.