In the German soccer first division, Leverkusen will be at home in this weekend's marquee match, welcoming strong rival Borussia Dortmund. The match is highly anticipated by the fans, with both sides looking for a win to consolidate or improve their position in the table.
Leverkusen have been strong in the league of late, scoring a total of 18 goals in their last six matches for a staggering average of over three goals per game. The team's attacking prowess is staggering, with two strikers in particular, Viktor Boniface and Patrick Schick, in top form, both of whom scored in their last Europa League match against BK Häcken. However, despite the team's impressive performance on the attacking end, they will need to be wary of Dortmund's counter-attacks, who also have a strong attacking threat led by strikers such as Marco Reus and Karim Adeyemi.
Borussia Dortmund's team morale is on the up as they beat AC Milan 3-1 in their last game in the Champions League. However, while Dortmund have scored 20 goals in their last six games, they have some defensive issues to address and, like Leverkusen, will be looking to minimize the number of goals they concede in this match.
Historically, Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund have won two and four of their last few meetings respectively, with no draws. These two teams tend to score a lot of goals against each other, with an average of four goals being scored in each meeting. The last time these two teams met in the league was on January 29, 2023, when Dortmund won 2-0 on the road.
For Leverkusen, manager Javi Alonso has a healthy squad under him with no injury concerns. They are expected to use a 3-4-2-1 formation with Lukas Hradecky, Odilon Kosunu, Jonathan Tah, Edmund Tapsoba, Jeremy Frimpong, Alex Grimaldo, Granit Xhaka, Ezequiel Palacios, Jonas Hoffmann, Florian Wiltz, and Viktor Ouko-Boniface starting.
For Borussia Dortmund, coach Edin Terzic faces limitations in lineup selection. Julien Duranville (muscle injury), Niklas Süller (illness) and Felix Nemecha (hip problem) are unavailable. We expect Dortmund may use a 4-2-3-1 formation with Gregor Kobel, Julian Reilson, Mats Hummels, Niko Schlotterbeck, Rami Bensembani, Marcel Sabitzer, Emre Zhan, Marco Reus, Julian Brandt, Jamie Bynoe Gittens, and Niklas Fülke** starting.
