Bayern hope for victory against Frankfurt even without Kane

FC Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany hopes that his team can show improvement against Eintracht Frankfurt even without striker Harry Kane on Sunday to boost them for more difficult tasks in the coming weeks.

Top striker Kane is expected to miss the match after going off at half-time against Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday with a calf problem, but Kompany said it is not a long-term problem and that they expect him back soon.

"It's not the first time this season we might have to deal without him. We can never replace Harry like-for-like. There aren't many players who score 30-40 goals a season. We'll try to find the best solution tomorrow to win the game," he said.

Bayern are eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga but were largely outplayed in last weekend's 0-0 draw at champions Bayer Leverkusen, and needed a stoppage time equalizer to avoid extra time against Celtic and reach the last 16.

There they were drawn to play Leverkusen twice more, on March 5 and 11, after Bundesliga dates with third-placed Frankfurt, where midfielder Joshua Kimmich could also be absent, and at VfB Stuttgart.

"We are looking forward to it, and we want to win," Kompany said of the dates with Leverkusen who Bayern have not beaten in six matches since Xabi Alonso became Leverkusen coach in the autumn of 2022.

Spaorting director Christoph Freund spoke of two matches "in which a lot as at stake and which will be very intense."

The Bundesliga duels between Bayern and Bayer this season ended 1-1 and 0-0, and Leverkusen won 1-0 in Munich in the German Cup.

Bayern's reverse fixture against Frankfurt ended 3-3 and Kompany said that Frankfurt have "done a lot right this season" and "brings through very talented players."

"The goal is always that we perform to our best in the next game. You can never change what happened in the last game.

"There's been a lot of games in a short space of time. We now need to make sure that we're top again tomorrow. We always focus on the next game. We know we can create special moments in this stadium."