Werder Bremen will look to bring an end to their four-match losing streak in the league when they hit the road to face Bayer Leverkusen.
Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen cannot afford to drop any points when they host Werder Bremen at BayArena on Saturday afternoon if they want to stay alive in the title race this time around.
The home team are second on the points table with 53 points in their 24 games. They are eight points behind league leaders Bayern Munich with only ten games to go. As a result, Die Werksel need to keep winning to have an outside chance of retaining the title.
While Xabi Alonso’s men have won their last two Bundesliga games, they are heading into this fixture on the back of a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16. They will be eager to get things back on track with a win here.
Meanwhile, the visitors are 12th on the points table with 30 points in their 24 outings. They were in a comfortable spot a few weeks ago, but four straight defeats in the league have complicated things for them. However, since they are 13 points above the drop zone, the RIver Islanders won’t panic just yet.
Their last outing was a 2-1 defeat at the hands of VfL Wolfsburg. While they did dominate the ball and create more chances, Werder Bremen were not clinical enough, and they ended up suffering. They will have to punch above their weight to go past Bayer Leverkusen in this fixture. The Hard Tackle takes a close look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Bayer Leverkusen
The home team will be without the services of Jeanuel Belocian and Martin Terrier. Meanwhile, there are doubts about the availability of Robert Andrich.
Xabi Alonso will continue with the 3-4-3 system, where Matej Kovar should be in goal. The back three should be made up of Nordi Mukiele, Jonathan Tah, and Piero Hincapie. The trio will look to keep things tight at the back and will receive significant support from Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo, who will feature as the wing-backs.
In the centre of the park, Granit Xhaka will partner with Exequiel Palacios. They will look to control the tempo of the game. Florian Wirtz and Nathan Tella will feature on the flanks, providing the width to their attacks, while Victor Boniface will lead the line for Bayer Leverkusen against Werder Bremen.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Kovar; Mukiele, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Palacios, Grimaldo; Tella, Boniface, Wirtz
Werder Bremen
The visitors will be without the services of Marco Friedl and Niklas Stark. Apart from the duo, everyone else should be available for selection. Werder Bremen will line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, where Michael Zetterer will be in goal.
The back three will be made up of Milos Veljkovic, Julian Malatini and Anthony Jung. Mitchell Weiser and Felix Agu will feature as the wing-backs; they will provide much-needed support to the three central defenders.
In the centre of the park, Senne Lynen and Jens Stage will look to ensure the Bayer Leverkusen midfielders do not end up dominating the proceedings. Oliver Burke and Romano Schmid will be the two creative midfielders behind Andre Silva, who will spearhead the Werder Bremen attack against Bayer Leverkusen.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Zetterer; Veljkovic, Malatini, Jung; Weiser, Lynen, Stage, Agu; Schmid, Burke; Silva
Key Stats
- Werder Bremen have the better head-to-head record have won 36 out of the last 100 meetings between the two teams. They have only lost 28 of those fixtures.
- The last meeting between the two teams back in October ended in a 2-2 draw.
- In four out of Bayer Leverkusen’s last five games, one of the teams involved has kept a clean sheet.
- The visitors have won just one out of ten competitive games in 25 outings. They have suffered defeat in seven of those ties.
- Xabi Alonso’s team are unbeaten in their last 11 home games in the Bundesliga (W8).
Player to Watch
Victor Boniface
Injuries have caused a lot of trouble for Victor Boniface this season as he has racked up just over 1,100 minutes of first-team action so far. Despite that, he has 10 goals and an assist to his name. The Nigerian international is slowly getting back to his best, and he will be eager to get his name on the score sheet when he takes the field against Werder Bremen.
Prediction
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Werder Bremen
Werder Bremen have been on a four-match losing streak in the Bundesliga. While the River Islanders would like to bring an end to it, they are unlikely to get the better of Bayer Leverkusen despite the fact that they are heading into this fixture on the back of a defeat against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for Xabi Alonso and his charges.
