Bayern prepare to host Leverkusen without Hoeness’s guiding hand

Bayern Munich host Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday with the European champions reeling from Uli Hoeness’ resignation after his three-and-a-half year jail sentence for tax fraud.

Uli Hoeness has chosen to resign his position at Bayern Munich rather than have his sentence for tax evasion become a bigger distraction than it already is for the Bundesliga leaders. Glyn Kirk / AFP Show more

Bayern Munich host Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday with the European champions reeling after the resignation of former player and club president Uli Hoeness following his three-and-a-half-year jail sentence for tax fraud. Leverkusen were the last team to beat Bayern in the league in October 2012. Since then Bayern are unbeaten in 49 league matches and enjoy a 20-point lead in the Bundesliga table.

But the club is in turmoil after Hoeness resigned as both president and chairman of the advisory board on Friday after being sentenced to three and a half years in jail on Thursday,

Hoeness, 62, who won the 1974 World Cup with West Germany, cheated the German state out of 28.5 million euros (Dh145.4m) of taxes.

“Tax evasion was the mistake of my life,” Hoeness said in a statement on the Bayern website. “I want to avert harm to my club.

“Bayern Munich is my life’s work and always will be.

“I will stay committed to this great club and its people as long as I live.”

Having been the driving force behind the Uefa Champions League holders since joining them as an 18 year old in 1970, Hoeness played a huge part in turning them into a European powerhouse.

Bayern have won 21 of their 23 Bundesliga league titles and all five of their European Cup or Champions League victories with him involved either as a player, club manager or president.

Leverkusen have problems of their own and last won on February 7, losing six of their past seven matches.

Third-placed Bayer were knocked out of the Champions League's last 16 on Wednesday when they lost 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain after being drubbed 4-0 at home.

Bayern right-back Rafinha, centre-back Jerome Boateng and winger Thomas Mueller could all return having been left out of the starting side which drew 1-1 with Arsenal on Tuesday in the Champions League last 16.

Leverkusen are set to welcome back centre-back Emir Spahic, who was suspended for their Champions League match in Paris.

Second-placed Borussia Dortmund host Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday with the hosts welcoming back Poland striker Robert Lewandowski after a knee strain.

Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp will be without injured winger Marco Reus and suspended attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

“Unless something unusual happens, he won’t be involved,” said Klopp of Reus, with either Jonas Hofmann or new-signing Milos Jojic set to take Reus’ place.

The Germany winger, who is suffering with a leg injury, has been off-form of late and last scored in December’s 2-1 defeat to Hertha Berlin.

While Dortmund have won their past three games to regain second in the table, Gladbach have slumped to eighth and are winless in their past nine games.

Coach Lucien Favre signed a contract extension on Wednesday and the Foals have agreed a transfer with an unnamed club for Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The 21 year old will leave at the end of the season and is strongly rumoured to be Barcelona’s replacement for Victor Valdes.

Schalke 04 can leap-frog Leverkusen into third place on Friday when they are at sixth-placed Augsburg.

The Royal Blues of Schalke will be without Peru winger Jefferson Farfan, who has a knee injury.

Schalke travel to Real Madrid on Tuesday looking to overturn the near-impossible Champions League 6-1 deficit from their drubbing in Gelsenkirchen a fortnight ago.

Fifth-placed Wolfsburg are looking to brush off back-to-back defeats when they travel to bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig and keep up the hunt for a Champions League place.

At the bottom of the table, VfB Stuttgart’s new coach Huub Stevens will be trying to coax their first win in ten matches having taken charge after Thomas Schneider was sacked.

Stuttgart are only out of the bottom three on goal difference, while Robin Dutt’s Bremen are up to 11th after successive wins over strugglers Hamburg and Nuremberg.

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