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Unpredictable Bayer Leverkusen host Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday, still battling the inconsistency which threatens to derail their top-four hopes.

The 2023-24 double winners have been a mixed bag this term and are still coming to terms with a close-season rebuild and the firing of coach Erik Ten Hag just two games into the campaign.

Leverkusen became the first team to avoid defeat against Arsenal in the Champions League this season in Wednesday's 1-1 last 16, first-leg draw.

When placed alongside their 2-0 win over Manchester City and a strong 2-2 home draw with Newcastle, those performances showed what Kasper Hjulmand's young side are capable of.

But domestically Leverkusen's progress has been undermined by lackluster showings against smaller teams -- and it may cost them a spot in next season's Champions League.

After dismantling RB Leipzig away in December, Leverkusen sat third and looked on track for the top four.

But Leverkusen have won just two of their past six Bundesliga matches and sit sixth, three points off the Champions League places.

Failing to secure Champions League football would be a major setback for a club who spent big in the summer, hoping to elevate themselves to a spot alongside Bayern and Dortmund in German football.

Even if the Bundesliga gets five Champions League spots, Leverkusen's chances hang in the balance, with Hoffenheim in third spot and both Stuttgart and Leipzig -- who play each other on Sunday -- above them in the table.

Facing Bayern in between matches against Premier League leaders Arsenal makes their task even harder.

"That's what we're here for. That's why we'll try to recover perfectly after each game and be 100 percent back, both physically and mentally," captain Robert Andrich said on Wednesday.

"We're looking forward to Bayern -- and also to heading to London."

Bayern have an 11-point buffer atop the table but have been hit by injuries.

Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies and Jonas Urbig joined Manuel Neuer and Hiroki Ito on the sidelines after picking up injuries in Tuesday's 6-1 Champions League demolition of Atalanta.

After missing two games with a knock, Harry Kane is set to return for Bayern.

He needs 12 goals in his remaining nine league games to beat Robert Lewandowski's single-season goalscoring record.

One to watch: Michael Olise

Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise scored two goals and laid on an assist in Tuesday's 6-1 Champions League win at Atalanta to continue his excellent season.

In a team packed full of attacking threats, Olise is a willing provider for Harry Kane and Luis Diaz, as well as being a goal threat himself.

Olise's achievements this year may have been overshadowed by Bayern's barnstorming form and Kane's pursuit of Lewandowski's record, but the France winger is on track for a milestone of his own.

In addition to 10 goals, Olise has 16 assists so far this league campaign -- five away from equaling Thomas Mueller's all-time Bundesliga record.

"When I'm in certain areas of the pitch the coach (Vincent Kompany) wants me to beat my man, to play, to shoot, to do what I want to do -- so I'd say I have the freedom in that sense, to do what I want," Olise told CBS.

Al-Sadd coach Roberto Mancini has been unable to return to Qatar and will miss the team’s next game against Umm Salal because of the war in the region, the club said Thursday.

The Italian coach, who had been out of the country on a family matter, will miss Friday's match in the Qatar Stars League.

An assistant coach will handle first-team duties for the game “while coordination will continue for the coach’s return at the earliest available opportunity,” Al-Sadd said on social media.

Mancini, who won the European Championship as the Italy coach in 2021, was hired by Al-Sadd last November.

The club said arrangements had been made for Mancini “to leave after the first leg of the AFC Champions League Elite match due to a family medical matter.” That game, scheduled for early last week, was postponed.

“Following the recent developments in the region, Mancini departed as scheduled. However, due to the flight situation, he has not yet been able to return," the club's statement said.

Commercial flights have been halted or heavily restricted in the region following US and Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks on Israel and Gulf states.

Several sporting events scheduled in the region have been postponed, including ⁠some ⁠AFC Champions League Elite round-of-16 games.

Mercedes' George Russell led ‌the way in practice for the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli, with the at times twitchy-looking McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri heading the chasing pack.

Russell, who won the season opener in Melbourne, posted a flying lap of one minute, 32.741 seconds on soft tires and stayed top of the timesheets for most of the only practice session ahead of qualifying for the sprint race around the Shanghai International Circuit.

The Briton's time was 0.120 seconds quicker than Antonelli.

McLaren looked to have a better handle on their Mercedes power unit, after team principal Andrea Stella complained about ‌a lack of ‌engine data from the supplier following the last ‌race ⁠in Australia.

Norris was ⁠0.555 seconds down on Russell's time, with Piastri 0.731 behind the Mercedes.

The papaya-colored McLarens looked to be struggling with the sweeping Turn 1, with Piastri running wide around the 30 minute-mark as the rear end of his car stepped out, with his engineer confirming both cars were facing the same issue.

With Ferrari running their innovative "flip-flop" wing on both cars, Charles Leclerc was fifth fastest ⁠and 0.858 seconds behind Russell.

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton switched ‌to the soft tire relatively early in ‌the session and while last year's sprint race winner finished 1.388 seconds off ‌the pace, the track had got quicker by the time Mercedes set ‌their fastest laps.

The Briton's Ferrari suffered an early lock up and spin and also made contact with compatriot Norris in the first half of the session when the McLaren driver attempted a pass only for Hamilton to close the gap going ‌into the corner.

The Haas of Ollie Bearman pipped Red Bull's five-times world champion Max Verstappen, who were 1.685 seconds ⁠and 1.800 ⁠seconds off the pace.

Dutchman Verstappen will be hoping to avoid a similar situation to the rear-axle lockup that caused him to crash in qualifying at last weekend's Melbourne race.

The Racing Bulls car of Arvin Lindlad stopped after 15 minutes, possibly with a power train issue, taking the rookie out of the only practice session ahead of competitive running on a circuit he has not driven before.

The Audis of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto enjoyed a strong first run, finishing ninth and 12th ahead of the second Red Bull of Isaac Hadjar in 13th.

Despite high hopes for the season after the regulations reset, Aston Martin continued to struggle for pace with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso 18th and just two-tenths faster than Valteri Bottas's Cadillac, F1's newest entrants.

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