Werder Bremen vs. Bayer Leverkusen preview: Two midtable sides face off
Two clubs that currently occupy midtable positions in the Bundesliga table will go head-to-head when Werder Bremen play host to Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.
| Photo: SV Werder Bremen |
Werder Bremen
Bremen were unable to claim a positive result when they travelled to the WWK Arena to face Augsburg last weekend. Jens Stage found the net in the 16th minute to cancel out Dion Drena Beljo's opening goal, but Arne Maier restored Augsburg's lead just after half time to condemn Bremen to a 2-1 defeat.
Although Ole Werner's side have lost seven of their previous 10 league matches, they will be content with their current midtable position. They are currently 10 points clear of the bottom three and look well set to secure their Bundesliga status for a second straight season.
With two points separating them from ninth-placed Leverkusen, the host will leapfrog their opponents and move into the top half of the table if they can claim all three points on Sunday. However, they have not won a home league game against Leverkusen since October 2016. Since that result, Bremen's last four home meetings in the Bundesliga have produced two draws and two defeats.
Team News
Marco Friedl, Romano Schmid, Christian Groß and Eduardo Dos Santos Haesler are all expected to miss out through illness. Bremen are also without the services of long-term injury absentees Felix Agu and Manuel Mbom. Substitute goalkeeper Michael Zetterer missed training on Friday, but he is expected to be fit enough to take his place on the bench.
Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen extended their unbeaten run to four matches in all competitions with a 2-0 home victory over Ferencvaros in Thursday's Europa League clash. Karim Demirbay opened the scoring in the ninth minute before Edmond Tapsoba doubled Leverkusen's advantage late on, ensuring Die Werkself will take a healthy lead into the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Although Xabi Alonso's side may have one eye on Thursday's trip to Hungary, they will try to remain focused on Sunday's away meeting with Bremen.
The visitors have failed to keep a clean sheet in their previous nine away league games, but they will take confidence from the fact that they have only lost one of their last five Bundesliga away matches. Incidentally, Leverkusen have the chance to avoid defeat in three consecutive away trips in the top flight for the first time this season.
Team News
Leverkusen are still unable to call upon Andrey Lunev and Charles Aranguiz, who are ruled out with back and calf problems respectively. Robert Andrich and Exequiel Palacios both missed Thursday's Europa League contest through suspension, but they return to the matchday squad on Sunday.