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Bayer Leverkusen – Borussia Dortmund
This weekend the Bundesliga has a full programme again. Nine exciting games await us. The 18th matchday then comes to a worthy conclusion on Sunday evening with the duel between two teams that are looking to secure a place in the Champions League in the second half of the season. Borussia Dortmund, fifth in the table, travels 60 kilometres south to Leverkusen to face a Werkself team that is getting better and better. Find out which of the two teams will start the second half of the season better in our Leverkusen vs Dortmund tip.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have had a very mixed start to the season and have already suffered seven defeats in the Bundesliga. Under new coach Xabi Alonso, however, things are going much better for the Werkself. Bayer currently has five Bundesliga victories in a row. On Wednesday, Leverkusen dominated their opponents from Bochum and consequently won the match 2:0.
Borussia Dortmund is lacking that certain something this season. Coach Edin Terzić’s team regularly has inexplicable fluctuations in performance. BVB is currently fifth in the table, five points behind leaders Bayern Munich. On Wednesday, the Black and Yellows were lucky to win 2-1 against Mainz 05 thanks to a last-minute goal.
Leverkusen – Dortmund Info:
– Date & Time: 29.01.2023, 17:30 hrs.
– Venue: BayArena, Leverkusen
– Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 18
– TV broadcast: DAZN
Leverkusen Form & Balance Check
Last season, Bayer 04 Leverkusen finished third in the table. In the summer, for once, not a single regular player left the Werkself. Expectations in the Rhineland were correspondingly high. However, the start of the season was anything but ideal. In the Champions League, Bayer only finished third in their group and will now play in the Europa League against AS Monaco in February.
The Werkself also had a subterranean start in the league. After only one win from the first eight games, coach Gerardo Seoane was suspended. His successor Xabi Alonso, who played for Bayern in the Bundesliga, led Leverkusen back to success. The Rhinelanders have won five matches in a row in the Bundesliga. On Wednesday, Bayer won 2:0 at home against relegation-threatened VfL Bochum.
Explosive Offensive
Leverkusen’s offence is as fast as the wind, with Moussa Diaby currently the fastest player in the Bundesliga. 36.52 km/h was the top speed of the young Frenchman. Outside defender Jeremie Frimpong is also among the top 5 in the league with 36 km/h.
This speed helps the Werkself to dominate their opponents. So it is not surprising that Frimpong and Diaby are the team’s top scorers with six and five goals respectively. In the second half of the season, youngster Florian Wirtz is finally available again. The 19-year-old made his starting eleven comeback against Bochum and crowned his performance with an assist.
Leverkusen facts & analysis
– Currently eighth in the Bundesliga table.
– Only two defeats under coach Xabi Alonso
– Last home defeat on matchday five
Dortmund form & balance check
For seven seasons in a row, Borussia Dortmund managed to qualify for the Champions League via the league. In the 2014/2015 season, the last season under coach Jürgen Klopp, BVB missed out on reaching the top flight for the last time. Dortmund has now established itself as the second force in German football, behind FC Bayern.
This season, however, a place in the Champions League is anything but a foregone conclusion. Dortmund is only in fifth place in the table. The team from the Ruhr area has always had inexplicable fluctuations in performance. This is also reflected in the results. Coach Edin Terzić’s team has only played to a draw once in the Bundesliga and has already conceded six defeats. On Wednesday, Dortmund very happily won 2-1 against Mainz with a goal from Gio Reyna in stoppage time.
Offensive is slowly getting fit again
BVB’s biggest problem is their offence, which failed to get going in the Hinrunde. With the departure of Erling Haaland, there is a big gap in Borussia’s offensive line. New signing Anthony Modeste has not been able to close this gap so far. The player with the most goals this season is Youssoufa Moukoko, who is only 18 years old. Sébastien Haller has fortunately beaten testicular cancer and most recently made his debut for BVB.
Dortmund also missed other highly talented players, especially in the offensive, for long stretches of the Hinrunde. Giovanni Reyna, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens or Mahmoud Dahoud were often not available to BVB in the games so far. Reyna in particular showed his class in the first two games of the new year. The US-American scored the winning goal against Augsburg as well as against Mainz.
Dortmund facts & analysis
– Currently fifth in the Bundesliga table.
– Ten goals fewer on the account than last season at this time
– Five wins in last seven Bundesliga games
Predicted line-up – last update on 27 January 2023
Against Bochum, head coach Xabi Alonso made changes in a couple of positions. Adam Hlozek scored a goal to earn a bid for a return to the starting eleven. Once again, Frimpong and Diaby will provide a lot of pressure on the right side. In the forward line we expect Florian Wirtz, who will probably be in the starting eleven again. Due to injuries, Patrik Schick and Charles Aránguiz will be out this weekend.
Recently, Sébastien Haller made two short appearances and showed himself to be in good shape. Haller could start for Dortmund on Sunday due to Moukoko’s recent poor performance. In addition, Bynoe-Gittens and Reyna are pushing for a place in the starting eleven after their strong games. For BVB, Morey and Meunier are out due to injury. Reus is likely to return to the squad after his cold.
Leverkusen – Dortmund direct comparison & Statistics
103 competitive matches between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen have been played so far. BVB has won 45 of them. Bayer 04, on the other hand, have only managed 33 victories against the Black and Yellows. In the first leg, Dortmund narrowly won 1:0 with a goal from Marco Reus.
– Leverkusen have won only one of their last four matches against Dortmund.
– When Leverkusen lead 1-0 in home matches, they win 82% of the games.
– Borussia Dortmund have always scored in their last eight matches
– Did you know that Dortmund score 29% of their goals between the 76-90 minute?
