Bayer Leverkusen vs. Stuttgart: Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

Champions Bayer Leverkusen will be hoping to bounce back from their disappointing draw last time out in the league when they host Stuttgart on Friday at BayArena in the Bundesliga.

The home team, Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen, are in third place with 15 points after eight games, while the away team, Werder Bremen, are in eighth place with 12 points. The previous league match for Leverkusen was on October 26, and the score was 2-2.

Previous Matches and head-to-head

In the 77th minute, Felix Agu scored an own goal for the hosts. However, Werder Bremen equalized in the 90th minute via Romano Schmid, resulting in Die Schwarzroten's third draw in four league games.

Compared to last term, when they went undefeated and dropped points only six times, Alonso's squad has already lost once, drawn three times, and dropped points four times this season.

After scoring twice in the first nine minutes and building a three-goal lead by the 36th minute, Leverkusen cruised to a 3-0 victory against Elversberg in Tuesday's second-round DFB-Pokal encounter.

In their previous eight games, Die Schwarzroten have scored 16 goals, but they have also conceded 10 goals and kept just two clean sheets.

With fifteen goals allowed this season, Leverkusen is the eleventh-best defensive team in their division. However, they have lost their last nine league matches in a row.

The hosts have an incredible home record, with 26 wins, five draws, and one loss in their previous 32 home matches. In their last five games at BayArena, the team won four and drew one.

Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness addresses the media on September 22, 2024, before his team's match against Borussia Dortmund.

copyright of Imago

On the other hand, Stuttgart will be looking to extend its winning streak to three games after Tuesday's 2-1 DFB-Pokal second-round triumph against Kaiserslautern.

Despite being reduced to ten men in the 66th minute, with a score of 2-0, Friday's visitors came out on top 2-1 against newly-promoted Holstein Kiel on October 26.

Since the Bundesliga is the most significant tournament for his squad, manager Sebastian Hoeness expressed his joy with the outcome. Hoeness had been linked to Manchester United as a replacement for Erik ten Hag.

While Hoeness's squad suffered a 4-0 loss to Bayern Munich on October 19, they won four of their last five games and drew three of their last eight, demonstrating how tough they have been to beat recently.

It should be mentioned that Stuttgart won the five previous Bundesliga matches played on the road. Still, their away success is inconsistent, with three losses, two draws, and two victories in their past seven league matches.

Bayer Leverkusen x Stuttgart Team News

For the hosts, forward Amine Adli will be out until March 2025 with a fractured leg, while defender Jeanuel Belocian will be out until late November with an injury.

Alonso may start Piero Hincapie, Jonathan Tah, and Edmond Tapsoba at centre-back in front of goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.

Assaulters Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz will likely flank Victor Boniface up front.

Several Stuttgart players are on the sidelines, including Holstein Kiel's sentencing and centre-back Jeff Chabot, who will not be available until February 2025.

Luca Raimund will be back in action at the beginning of next month, while Yannik Keitel will be back in late November.

Additionally, right defender Leonidas Stergiou and winger Justin Diehl are questionable. Thus, Hoeness may choose a back four of Josha Vagnoman, Arnie Chase, Anthony Rouault, and Maximilian Mittelstadt and a forward duo of El Bilal Toure and Deniz Undav.

Our Predictions

Bayer Leverkusen to win and over 3.5 goals @ 2.55 on Sky247.ng

High scores were likely in Friday's matchup due to Bayer Leverkusen's potent offence and woeful defence.

But with such an impressive home record and Stuttgart's inconsistent away performances this season, the hosts should be considered favourites.

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