European Hopefuls go Head-to-Head in Bundesliga

The return to Bundesliga action after the winter break means we have some great matches to look forward to on the weekend.  One of those games involves two teams hoping to qualify for European football next season, Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

The match takes place on Saturday 26th January at the Volkswagen Arena and both teams will be determined to win maximum points.

Wolfsburg begin the weekend in 6th place, which is the final Europa League qualifying spot.  They have 28 points and a win could potentially lift them one place in the table.  Having won three straight games in the Bundesliga prior to the international break, it was a disappointing return to competitive action for Wolfsburg last week as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Schalke.

Trends show Wolfsburg have won five of their last seven games in all competitions and recovered well from a poor run of form between the end of September and November. They are undefeated in their last three home Bundesliga games, including wins over RB Leipzig and Stuttgart plus a 2-2 draw with Hoffenheim.

In nine of Wolfburg’s last twelve home games in all competitions both teams have scored and the same applies to nineteen of their last twenty-five in the Bundesliga at the Volkswagen Arena.

Bayer Leverkusen joined Wolfsburg in returning to competitive action last weekend with a defeat.  They lost 1-0 at home to Borussia Monchengladbach, who are enjoying a good season in the Bundesliga.

Trends show Bayer Leverkusen have been inconsistent this season. The last seven games sum them up perfectly and they have won four, lost two and drawn one in the Bundesliga.  Away form shows just three victories in their last eleven away league games but two of those wins have come in the last five.

Scoring goals on the road has not been a problem for Bayer Leverkusen and they have netted in all but one of their previous five matches including 6 goals at Werder Bremen.  However, keeping them out of their own net has proved problematic and Bayer Leverkusen have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last five away Bundesliga games.

Team news and Wolfsburg could have Marcel Tisserand and Paul-Georges N'Tep back from a head injury and muscle injury respectively.  Daniel Ginczek is out until the end of March and Joshua Guilavogui and Ignacio Camacho are not expected to play any part.

Bayer Leverkusen are still without Joel Pohjanpalo who has an ankle injury and there are doubts over the participation of Panagiotis Takis Retsos, who has been nursing a hamstring problem.

Wolfsburg have been good at home in recent games while Bayer Leverkusen have found life tough on the road this season.  Given the form of both teams, it would not be a surprise to see them each find the back of the net but for Wolfsburg to come out on top.