Two teams at opposite ends of the Bundesliga table face off at Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor on Saturday as basement club SV Darmstadt 98 play host to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
The hosts will be seeking revenge after suffering a heavy 5-1 away defeat against Leverkusen in the reverse fixture five months ago.
Match preview
© Reuters
Darmstadt extended their unwanted winless run in the Bundesliga to 12 matches when they suffered a slender 1-0 away defeat to fellow relegation-threatened side Union Berlin last weekend.
Benedict Hollerbach scored the only goal of the game just after the hour mark to condemn the Lilies to their 12th top-flight defeat of the season, leaving them rooted to the foot of the table and six points adrift of safety.
Torsten Lieberknecht is under increased pressure to turn the club's fortunes around as they endeavour to avoid an immediate demotion to the second tier. Darmstadt have collected just 11 points from their opening 19 games this season; only in 2016-17 when they were relegated from the top flight have they accumulated fewer points (nine) at this stage of the season.
The prospect of success on Saturday is seemingly slim for Darmstadt, as they have lost six of their last seven Bundesliga meetings with Leverkusen, including all three on home soil.
Darmstadt failed to win 13 Bundesliga games in a row during the 1981-82 campaign and they must find a way to cause an upset on Saturday if they wish to avoid equalling this 42-year record; the Lilies' only previous triumph over Leverkusen came back in September 2015 when they won 1-0 away from home.
© Reuters
Bayer Leverkusen's perfect start to 2024 came to an end last weekend as they were held to a goalless home draw by Borussia Monchengladbach despite dominating the contest with 75% possession and 28 shots on goal.
Xabi Alonso's men drew a black in front of goal for the first time since May last year and have allowed Bundesliga title rivals Bayern Munich to close the gap to the summit to just two points, with both teams locking horns in an enticing showdown at the BayArena on February 10.
Nevertheless, Leverkusen remain the only team in Europe's top-five leagues who are yet to lose in any competition this season; Die Werkself have not lost any of their 28 competitive fixtures this term, with their draw against Monchengladbach equalling a club record set between 1978 and 1979 while competing in the second tier.
Alonso, who has been tipped to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss this summer, will be confident of leading his Leverkusen side to victory on Saturday as they have only dropped four points from a possible 27 available on the road so far this season, conceding a league-low eight goals in the process.
Leverkusen's clash with Darmstadt is their first of three matches across their next five top-flight fixtures against a team currently sitting in the bottom three, and Alonso is aware that his side must take advantage of their favourable-looking run-in if they are to give themselves the best possible chance of ending the campaign with their first-ever Bundesliga title.
Team News
© Reuters
Darmstadt will be without Marvin Mehlem (broken leg), Mathias Honsak, Aaron Seydel (both calf), Fraser Hornby and Braydon Manu (both ankle) due to injury, while Fabian Nurnberger and Clemens Riedel are both doubtful after coming off with ankle problems in the defeat at Union Berlin.
The potential absence of Riedel could see either Christoph Zimmermann or Matej Maglica start at centre-back, while Emir Karic is the most likely candidate to start on the left flank if Nurnberger is not fit to feature.
Julian Justvan has started both games for Darmstadt since joining the club on loan from Hoffenheim earlier this month, and the winger is expected to retain his place in attack alongside Luca Pfeiffer and top scorer Tim Skarke, who has six goals to his name this term.
As for Leverkusen, Victor Boniface (groin), Exequiel Palacios and Arthur (both thigh) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Odilon Kossounou is still away with Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations.
However, Edmond Tapsoba and Amine Adli could both return to the matchday squad as their times with Burkina Faso and Morocco respectively at AFCON have come to an end.
Goalkeeper Matej Kovar was surprisingly handed his Bundesliga debut at the expense of captain Lukas Hradecky last time out, keeping a clean sheet, but Alonso has confirmed that the latter will return between the sticks on Saturday.
SV Darmstadt 98 possible starting lineup:
Schuhen; Zimmermann, Gjasula, Klarer; Bader, Franjic, Holland, Karic; Justvan, Skarke; Pfeiffer
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Stanisic, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Schick
We say: SV Darmstadt 98 0-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen's draw with Monchengladbach last time out should be considered as nothing more than a minor blip for Alonso's title hopefuls, who will be regarded as firm favourites to return to winning ways in comfortable fashion on Saturday.
Die Werkself should have few problems rediscovering their goalscoring form against a leaky Darmstadt outfit, who have conceded an average of over two goals per game in the Bundesliga this season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
