In the final round of Europa League group-stage fixtures this season, Bayer Leverkusen will aim to finish with a perfect record on Thursday, when they play host to Molde who will fight for qualification.
The German hosts have won each of their five matches thus far, while their visitors trail second-placed Qarabag FK on goal difference.
Match preview
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Bayer Leverkusen head into the final round of Europa League group games having already booked their place in the knockout round with a perfect record thus far, having earned guaranteed entry into Europe's secondary competition with their sixth-placed Bundesliga finish last time around.
In what has been a memorable campaign on all front thus far, having gone unbeaten in all competitions under Xabi Alonso, Die Werkself have won all five of their continental outings, scoring 15 goals along the way while only conceding twice, starting with a 4-0 thrashing of Hacken and a 2-1 victory away at Molde, as Jeremie Frimpong and Nathan Tella got on the scoresheet against Thursday's opponents.
A pair of meetings with Qarabag then followed, and Alonso's men dished out a 5-1 beating at the BayArena and triumphed by a goal to nil thanks to Victor Boniface's injury-time penalty, before they most recently travelled to Hacken and leaving with a 2-0 victory as Boniface was again on the scoresheet alongside Patrik Schick.
That result stretched their run to 14 straight wins across all competitions, and while continuing an unbeaten streak, they do now head into the final group game on the back of a pair of 1-1 Bundesliga draws with Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart either side of a DFB-Pokal triumph over Paderborn, as they most recently came from a goal down to take a share of the spoils away at third-placed Stuttgart at the weekend thanks to Florian Wirtz's leveller.
That result saw Bayer Leverkusen move four points clear at the summit of Germany's top flight, and they will now turn their focus back to European action with the aim of finishing on a high before entering the knockout stage early next year.
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They meet a visiting side with far more to play for in the sixth round of fixtures, as they bid to climb to second spot and keep their Europa League campaign alive.
The Norwegian outfit had to endure a slow start to the group stage, falling to a 1-0 defeat away at Qarabag in their curtain-raiser before their wait for a first point continued in a 2-1 defeat at home to Thursday's hosts in early October, with Emil Breivik's goal coming too late to spark a turnaround.
That left Erling Moe's side in a difficult position after two rounds of games in their search for a top-two finish, but they would go on to turn their fortunes around in a pair of contests against Hacken, firstly dishing out a 5-1 beating on home turf before Kristian Eriksen netted a brace after Fredrik Gulbrandsen's opener in a 3-1 victory in Sweden.
Molde then hosted Qarabag in a key contest last time out on the continent, and they looked set to make it three wins on the bounce and climb into second spot, leaving them on track for a Europa League playoff place, having gone 2-1 up in the 87th minute through another Eriksen brace, only to be pegged back by a Bahlul Mustafazada equaliser five minutes into injury time.
Such a result means Moe's side trail the Azerbaijani outfit on goal difference heading into the final game, and with third place only sufficient to drop into the Europa Conference League, they will be desperate to pull off a major upset in Germany on Thursday on the back of a 1-0 Norwegian Cup final win over Bodo/Glimt, thanks to Gulbrandsen's 89th-minute goal, to stand a chance of climbing into second spot and staking a claim for a round-of-16 place in Europe's secondary competition.
Team News
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Xabi Alonso has made slight rotations to his Bayer Leverkusen team throughout the Europa League campaign thus far, and given their busy schedule we may see several changes again on Thursday, although Victor Boniface may continue to lead the line having started in their trip to Hacken, having netted 14 goals in his first 21 appearances for the club following a summer arrival.
Should they revert to a 4-2-3-1 shape, as they did in the last continental outing, Nathan Tella and Adam Hlozek could again be handed opportunities in a supporting trio, while Robert Andrich is likely to return in midfield.
A back four will allow a rest for one of Die Werkself's key centre-backs, and Jonathan Tah may sit out on Thursday, leaving Edmond Tapsoba and Odilon Kossounou to partner up in the middle of the defence.
Molde will likely travel to Germany with an unchanged starting XI from their draw with Qarabag in the last group game, with Martin Ellingsen, Casper Oyvann and Eirik Haugan again set to line up in the middle of the defence in a 5-3-2 shape.
At the other end of the pitch, Veton Berisha should continue to lead the line, likely alongside Magnus Wolff Eikrem, while Emil Breivik and Kristian Eriksen are danger men from midfield having netted 14 and seven goals respectively so far this term, with the latter aiming to continue his continental scoring streak.
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Kovar; Stanisic, Kossounou, Tapsoba, Hincapie; Xhaka, Andrich; Tella, Hlozek, Hofmann; Boniface
Molde possible starting lineup:
Petersen; Lovik, Ellingsen, Oyvann, Haugan, Haugen; Eriksen, Breivik, Grodem; Berisha, Eikrem
We say: Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 Molde
While Molde have far more to play for in the final round of group games, we can only envisage another triumph for Die Werkself at the BayArena on Thursday.
Still unbeaten in all competitions and having won all five Europa League matches so far, Alonso's men are full of confidence and momentum, and with more quality all over the pitch than their hosts, they should come out on top on home turf.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
