Preview: Werder Bremen vs. Bayer Leverkusen
A solitary point separates Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen ahead of their Bundesliga showdown at Weserstadion on Sunday afternoon.
Ninth-placed Leverkusen lead 11th-placed Werder in the Bundesliga table, although both sides have won nine of their 23 league matches this season.
After gaining promotion from the second tier last year, Werder Bremen hit the ground running on their return to the Bundesliga, kicking off their campaign with a run of two defeats in nine league outings.
Since then, however, the River Islanders have suffered nine defeats in 14 Bundesliga encounters, with a damaging run of six losses in eight games between October and January dragging them down the standings.
Still, Werder Bremen remain 11 points clear of the relegation zone thanks to their strong start to the campaign, while Ole Werner’s men have shown glimpses of their early-season form in recent times.
Although Werder have managed to win just four of their last 14 league games, they have claimed three victories across their previous six outings, securing back-to-back wins against Wolfsburg and Stuttgart before beating VfL Bochum 3-0.
Werner’s side suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Augsburg last time out, despite racking up 63% possession and 20 shots at the WWK Arena, so they will be hopeful of producing another dominant display on home soil.
Bayer Leverkusen extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four games with a 2-0 victory over Hungarian club Ferencvaros on Thursday, putting them in pole position to reach the Europa League quarter-finals.
That win followed last weekend’s 4-1 thrashing of relegation-threatened Hertha Berlin, which came after an impressive 1-1 draw at Champions League-chasing Freiburg.
Despite Leverkusen’s recent upturn, it is worth remembering that Xabi Alonso’s men have lost three of their previous six Bundesliga matches, falling to Borussia Dortmund, Augsburg and Mainz 05 in recent weeks.
It is also worth noting that Die Werkself have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last six Bundesliga encounters, with only five clean sheets coming in their 23 league outings this season.
Having won 11 of his 22 games since replacing Gerardo Seoane back in October, Alonso boasts a 50% win ratio as Leverkusen manager, but it feels as though the Spaniard is still searching for the right formula at the BayArena.
Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:
WWLLWL
Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga form:
LLWLDW
Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):
LLWDWW
We say: Werder Bremen 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Given the one-point gap between the teams in the Bundesliga table, we can see Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen playing out a close-fought battle.
Both sides have picked up a number of positive results in recent weeks, so we expect the points to be shared at Weserstadion.