<p>DÜSSELDORF, Germany — Leipzig is pinning its slender Bundesliga title hopes on a win over Bayern Munich, and an injury to Robert Lewandowski has strengthened its chances.</p>
<p>Leipzig hosts Bayern on Saturday trailing the defending champions by four points. A loss will drop the team seven points behind with seven games remaining, all but assuring Bayern of a record-extending ninth consecutive league title.</p>
<p>Two things are on Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann’s side.</p>
<p>First, the knee injury Lewandowski picked up with the Polish national team in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra has ruled him out for four weeks. That game was little more than a formality for Poland, but it could prove pivotal to this season’s Bundesliga and Champions League.</p>
<p>The injury is a blow to the Bayern striker’s attempt to break the Bundesliga single-season scoring record of 40 goals — he needed six more from eight games before the mishap. Lewandowski’s sheer dominance means backup Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has had little game time.</p>
<p>Second, there’s history. Since Bayern coach Hansi Flick took charge in November 2019 he has beaten every Bundesliga team but one — Leipzig. Nagelsmann’s team held the leaders to a 0-0 draw in Munich in February 2020, and Bayern needed Thomas Müller at his best to salvage a 3-3 draw in November.</p>
<p>The international break has shaken things up beyond Lewandowski’s injury. Bayern forms the backbone of the German national team, which lost to North Macedonia 2-1 in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday. Those players now have to switch focus quickly back to club matters and a different style of play.</p>
<p>It’s not clear if Leipzig will have to do without defender Marcel Halstenberg after he was ordered into self-isolation while with the German team after playing backgammon with a teammate who later tested positive for the coronavirus.</p>
<p>Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano is another doubt for the game as he tries to recover from injury. If the French center back plays, it will be a talking point, given he is moving to Bayern at the end of the season.</p>
<p>A win for Bayern wouldn’t just mean a commanding lead in the title race, it would also allow Flick and his team to focus their energy on defending the Champions League title. Paris Saint-Germain visits on Wednesday in the first leg of the quarterfinals in a rematch of last year’s final.</p>
<p>A loss for Leipzig would signify the team bumping against the ceiling of what’s possible in the Bundesliga during Bayern’s near-decade of dominance, and third-place Wolfsburg could close the gap on second.</p>
<p>Like Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig risks being seen as a talent factory, rather than a genuine title contender. That might make it harder to keep promising young players.</p>
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