Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen will look to secure their fourth win of the new Bundesliga campaign when they host Holstein Kiel on Saturday.
Winless Holstein Kiel will hit the road to square up against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen at BayArena on Matchday 6 of the 2024/25 Bundesliga campaign on Saturday afternoon.
The home team, who went unbeaten in the German top flight and ended Bayern Munich’s dominance last season, have already lost a game this term. Apart from that defeat, they have made a decent start to the new campaign, amassing ten points in their five outings.
After playing out a draw against Bayern Munich in their last league outing, Bayer Leverkusen managed to defeat AC Milan 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League and will be confident about getting the right result against Kiel. On the other hand, the visitors have only managed a point so far this season. They have lost four and played out a draw in their five outings.
Holstein Kiel are heading into this fixture on the back of a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt and will most likely struggle against Bayer Leverkusen. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Bayer Leverkusen
Xabi Alonso’s team do not have any fresh injury concerns, and he is expected to have a fully fit squad to choose from. Exequiel Palacios, who made a substitute appearance in their previous outing, is expected to start here.
Bayer Leverkusen will stick to the 3-4-2-1 formation, where Lukas Hradecky will be in goal. The back three will consist of Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, and Piero Hincapie. The central defenders will aim for a clean sheet, and they will receive some support from Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo, who will feature as the wing-backs.
Palacios will start alongside Granit Xhaka in the centre of the park. The duo will look to control the tempo and ensure they dominate the ball. Amine Adli and Florian Wirtz will be the creative force just behind star striker Victor Boniface, who is on the wishlist of quite a few top clubs, including Chelsea.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Adli, Wirtz; Boniface
Holstein Kiel
The visitors will be without a few of their important first-team players for this trip to take on Bayer Leverkusen this weekend. They will be without the services of Colin Kleine-Bekel, Andu Yobel Kelati, Patrick Erras, and Carl Johansson.
Holstein Kiel will feature in a 3-5-2 formation, where Timon Weiner will be in goal. The back three will consist of Marco Komenda, Timo Becker and Max Geschwill. While Lasse Rosenboom and Finn Porath will feature as wing-backs, they will have a significant about of defending to do.
In the centre of the park, Lewis Holtby and Magnus Knudsen will start alongside Armin Gigovic. The trio will shield the back line and also look to ensure Bayer Leverkusen do not dominate the ball too deep in their half. Benedikt Pichler and Shuto Machino will start up top as the two forwards.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Weiner; Becker, Komenda, Geschwill; Rosenboom, Holtby, Knudsen, Gigovic, Porath; Pichler, Machino
Key Stats
- Bayer Leverkusen have won all three of their fixtures against Holstein Kiel.
- Xabi Alonso’s team have been at their best defensively as they have conceded twice in three out of their five league games.
- Holstein Kiel has scored two goals in all of their away league games this season.
- The defending champions have only lost one out of their 20 home league games.
- The visitors are winless in the league and their only win of the new campaign came in the DFB-Pokal against Alemannia Aachen in August.
Player to Watch
Victor Boniface
The highly sought-after Victor Boniface is the one to watch out for. He has taken his game to another level since joining Leverkusen and is off to a flying start in the new season. The Nigerian international has five goals and an assist in his eight outings so far and will look to add to it when he takes the field against Holstein.
Prediction
Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Holstein Kiel
Bayer Leverkusen might not have made an unbeaten start to the new season. But they are still a force to reckon with, and the winless Holstein Kiel will find it difficult to stop Xabi Alonso’s men. The defending champions are expected to dominate the proceedings, and The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-0 win for the home team.