Bayer Leverkusen will be aiming to record successive league victories under their new boss Xabi Alonso when they travel to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
The hosts, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back from back-to-back defeats in the past week.
Match preview
© Reuters
Indeed, it has been a week to forget for Frankfurt, who suffered a demoralising 3-0 defeat away to rock-bottom VfL Bochum last weekend, before losing 3-2 to Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Bochum, who had taken only one point from their previous eight games, rallied late to secure their first win of the season, with Philipp Hofmann's and Philipp Forster's strikes sandwiching Evan Ndicka's own goal.
It was a major missed opportunity for Die Adler, who would have ended the weekend in third position in the table had they inflicted Bochum's eighth defeat in nine matches, due to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both dropping points against each other in Der Klassiker.
Oliver Glasner may have been more satisfied with his side's resistance against Spurs in North London in midweek, with goals from Daichi Kamada and Faride Alidou making a strong fist of things despite Tuta being sent off before the hour mark.
However, the defeat leaves them bottom of Group D, meaning that they may require at least four points from their last two matches against Marseille and Sporting Lisbon if they are to progress to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time.
In the meantime, Glasner will be expecting a major reaction against Leverkusen at Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday, especially with the visitors generally in poor form themselves.
© Reuters
That said, former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Alonso got off to a winning start in his first game in charge of Leverkusen last weekend, helping them to a 4-0 victory against Schalke 04 and moving outside of the relegation places in the process.
Jeremie Frimpong continued his impressive individual campaign by scoring a brace, which was sandwiched by strikes from Moussa Diaby and Paulinho in either half as Die Werkself eased to only their second league win of the season.
However, the old Leverkusen lingered at home against Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Kerem Demiraby's missed penalty at 1-0 down proving to be crucial as Mehdi Taremi showed his opponent how it is done by dispatching two goals from the spot after the break to seal an away victory.
The defeat leaves Alonso's side three points adrift of the Portuguese Primeria Liga champions in Group B with only six points to play for, meaning that they must take at least four points from their last two matches against Atletico Madrid and Club Brugge, while hoping for favours from elsewhere to deny Porto matching their points tally.
Perhaps more pertinently, Leverkusen still have plenty of work to do domestically as, while they head into the weekend outside of the relegation places, that is only by a matter of two points, which is not acceptable for a team with their expectations. Alonso will be hoping for a reaction in Frankfurt on Saturday.
Team News
© Reuters
Frankfurt are likely to remain without Jerome Onguene, Aurelio Buta, Luca Pellegrini, Ansgar Knauff and Almamy Toure due to injury, while Makoto Hasebe was withdrawn during the second half against Tottenham in midweek due to a knee injury and is unlikely to be risked on Saturday.
As such, Glasner is clearly short of defensive options, meaning that he may revert to a back four having used wing-backs last time out. Kristijan Jakic is likely to deputise at right-back, with Mario Gotze returning to the starting XI having only been used from the bench in North London.
Leverkusen's injury issues appear to be more focused towards the opposite end of the pitch, with Florian Wirtz, Sardar Azmoun, Karim Bellarabi and Exequiel Palacios all ruled out of making the trip to Frankfurt at the weekend.
Robert Andrich is likely to be restored to the engine room having missed the defeat to Porto through suspension, while Frimpong will help Alonso revert to a back five after being rested in midweek due to a knock.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Jakic, Tuta, Ndicka, Lenz; Rode, Sow; Lindstrom, Gotze, Kamada; Muani
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Tah, Tapsoba, Hincapie; Frimpong, Andrich, Aranguiz, Bakker; Diaby, Schick, Hudson-Odoi
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen
We can envisage Frankfurt's defensive injuries causing them major problems on Saturday, with Leverkusen likely to be expose their opponents' weaknesses in transition.
While the visitors suffered a setback against Porto in midweek, they were clinical in Alonso's first game in charge against Schalke last week, and will be confident of going on a decent domestic run under the Spaniard.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
