Bayer Leverkusen take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with the visitors looking to cement their position in the Champions League qualification places.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, remain four points clear in sixth spot, which should be enough to qualify for the Europa League next season.
Match preview
© Reuters
However, having been top of the Bundesliga as recently as December, regardless of what happens between now and the end of the season, it will be one remembered as a false dawn for Leverkusen.
Bayern Munich replaced Leverkusen as league leaders in the last match prior to the winter break after Robert Lewandowski's injury-time winner secured a 3-2 victory for the Bavarians, who proved too strong for Die Werkself in midweek once again, even without their injured talisman in attack.
Lewandowski's stand-in striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting got Bayern up and running after only seven minutes by getting himself on the scoresheet for a third successive match, before Joshua Kimmich capitalised on a poor Leverkusen clearance six minutes later to double his side's lead.
The visitors' lack of response was disappointing, with Hannes Wolf's side ultimately outclassed by the reigning champions in a 2-0 defeat. However, they have looked stronger defensively since sacking Peter Bosz last month, which will certainly be a quality required against free-scoring Frankfurt on Saturday.
© Reuters
Indeed, Frankfurt edged closer to qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history by bouncing back from their shock 4-0 defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach at the weekend with a 2-0 win over Augsburg on Tuesday.
The victory was perhaps not as comfortable as it sounds, with Marco Richter and Ruben Vargas both guilty of missing decent chances for the visitors, but Adi Hutter's side always looked likely to gain the three points on the day after Martin Hinteregger marked his return from injury by breaking the deadlock with a powerful header before half time.
Filip Kostic crossed for Andre Silva to head home yet again to double his side's lead shortly before the hour mark, with the forward's 24th league goal of the season securing a victory which ensures Frankfurt remain four points clear of fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund with only four games remaining.
There is an element of sadness regarding their fantastic season, though, given that Hutter will not be in charge to lead their potential maiden Champions League appearance next campaign. The 51-year-old recently confirmed that he will replace Marco Rose as Monchengladbach manager next season, with the search for his successor already underway.
In the meantime, they must ensure they cap a fantastic season by edging across the line.
- L
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Leverkusen hope to have Lars Bender and Santiago Arias back from meniscus and ankle injuries in the forthcoming weeks, but Saturday's test against Frankfurt will come too soon for the pair.
Wolf could look to make a few changes from the side which lost in Munich in midweek, with Florian Wirtz and Wendell hoping for recalls to the starting XI.
Moussa Diaby may drop a little deeper after Jeremie Frimpong failed to impress at right wing-back against Bayern.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Julian Baumgartlinger are out for the rest of the season with ACL injuries.
Frankfurt will travel without the suspended Sebastian Rode after the midfielder picked up his 10th booking of the season against Augsburg.
Stefan Ilsanker is likely to replace him, having lost his place in defence to the returning Hinteregger.
Erik Durm could replace Timothy Chandler at right wing-back, but Amin Younes may find himself used from the bench again given the form of Daichi Kamada, Luka Jovic and Silva in attack.
Ragnar Ache, Almamy Toure and Jabez Makanda have been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Tah, Bender, Tapsoba; Diaby, Aranguiz, Palacios, Wendell; Wirtz, Bailey; Schick
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Hinteregger, N'Dicka; Durm, Sow, Ilsanker, Kostic; Kamada; Silva, Jovic
We say: Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
We expect an entertaining affair in Leverkusen on Saturday, but the visitors look to have more firepower at present which should help them record a fifth win in six matches.
Few observers would have predicted Frankfurt to be the side likely to qualify for the Champions League after Leverkusen's blistering start to the season, but the latter are currently a club firmly in transition having sacked Bosz last month.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bayer Leverkusen win with a probability of 55.45%. A win for Eintracht Frankfurt had a probability of 22.32% and a draw had a probability of 22.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayer Leverkusen win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.86%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.11%) and 2-0 (8.7%). The likeliest Eintracht Frankfurt win was 1-2 (5.85%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.32%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 6.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bayer Leverkusen would win this match.
