SM
Fulham vs. Brentford: 1 hr 24 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
LL
Bundesliga | Gameweek 9
Oct 29, 2023 at 4.30pm UK
BayArena
FL

B. Leverkusen
2 - 1
Freiburg

Wirtz (36'), Hofmann (60')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Gulde (70')
Kubler (14'), Streich (90+3'), Holer (90+4')

Preview: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Sunday's Bundesliga clash between Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Bayer Leverkusen will be aiming to make it five wins in a row in the Bundesliga when they host Freiburg on Sunday.

The visitors, meanwhile, returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory against VfL Bochum last weekend.


Match preview

Leverkusen maintained their status at the top of the Bundesliga with a hard-fought 2-1 win away to Wolfsburg, with Xabi Alonso's side displaying that they carry signifcant threat from all areas of the pitch as wing-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo both got themselves on the scoresheet.

Wolfsburg defender Maxence Lacroix had levelled the scoring heading into half time after Frimpong broke the deadlock early on, but Grimaldo's fine strike ensured Die Werkself's winning run continued for another week, as they remained one point clear of Stuttgart.

However, Alonso and his players will likely be more weary of Bayern Munich and to a lesser extent Borussia Dortmund, with last season's title rivals both sitting two points behind Leverkusen heading into the weekend. With those two sides both playing before Leverkusen's fixture against Freiburg, they are likely to be knocked off the summit, ramping up the pressure to keep winning once more.

Leverkusen maintained their perfect record in the Europa League this season by thrashing Qarabag FK 5-1 on Thursday evening, with Florian Wirtz marking his return to the starting XI with a goal after just four minutes. Grimaldo scored twice during the comfortable win, which leaves Alonso's side three points clear of the Azerbaijani champions in Group H.

With group winners in the Europa League receiving a bye into the last-16, Alonso would almost certainly be hugely grateful to avoid adding another two fixtures to his team's calendar after the winter break, as they look to lift the Bundesliga title for the first time in the club's history.

Freiburg, meanwhile, secured an important victory in the Europa League themselves as they ran out 3-1 winners away to Backa Topola. The Serbian side led at the break through Nemanja Petrovic's strike, but Vincenzo Grifo scored a second half hat-trick to move Christian Streich's side level on points with West Ham United in Group A.

This is Breisgau-Brasilianer's second successive season competing in Europe's secondary competition, having finished inside the top six in each of the last two campaigns. They missed out on Champions League qualification by only three points last season, but ironically the emergence of their forthcoming opponents makes that an unlikely aim this time around.

Following their expected defeat away to Bayern, Freiburg had to come from behind once again to defeat Bochum at Europa-Park Stadion last weekend, with Grifo scoring another crucial goal after Ritsu Doan had cancelled out Goncalo Paciencia's early strike for the visitors.

Streich will know that his players must perform much better if they are to have any realistic chance of avoiding defeat away to their in-form opponents this weekend, though, with any defeat potentially damaging for them as it would leave them 12 points behind their opponents in the table.

Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga form:


Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):


Freiburg Bundesliga form:


Freiburg form (all competitions):



Team News

Alonso made six changes for his side's routine victory against Qarabag on Thursday, with Wirtz's excellent performance likely to have given the Spaniard a serious headache. Jonas Hofmann will certainly come back into the starting XI, but potentially at the expense of Amine Adli rather than Wirtz.

Likewise, Jonathan Tah, Exequiel Palacios and Frimpong will all expect to start after being rested in midweek, but Arthur and Timothy Fosu-Mensah remain sidelined by thigh and knee injuries respectively.

Streich, on the other hand, retained an identical starting XI between the two victories against Bochum and Backa Topola, with his team's position in their Europa League not healthy enough to rest players prior to securing their victory in Serbia.

However, the second longest-serving manager in Europe's major five leagues will have to make at least two changes on Sunday, as Maximilian Philipp and Roland Sallai were both substituted in Serbia due to injury.

Doan could move further forward, allowing either Kiliann Sildillia or Lukas Kubler a place into the side at right wing-back, with Lucas Holer and Michael Gregoritsch competing to lead the visitors' line; Christian Gunter, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and Yannik Keitel are all expected to miss out on the trip due to injury.


Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Boniface

Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Atubolu; Ginter, Lienhart, Gulde; Sildillia, Eggestein, Hofler, Weisshaupt; Doan, Grifo; Gregoritsch


We say: Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Freiburg

Both teams could be a little tired after their exertions in the Europa League on Thursday, but we can envisage Leverkusen's greater squad depth - and fewer amount of injuries - helping them towards a fifth successive victory in the Bundesliga and ending another matchday at the top of the table in the process.

Freiburg have not looked quite as strong as in recent seasons, and while they should still have more than enough quality to secure another top half finish, competing for the top six once again may prove beyond them.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data


body check tags ::

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


amp_article__527497 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2024-06-05 13:23:55:
html db last update - 2024-06-05 13:23:55 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Barcelona, Man United 'quoted £74m for Florian Wirtz'
A lasting legacy, motivated by money? Edu leaves Arsenal and breaks silence on exit
Preview: Real Madrid vs. AC Milan - prediction, team news, lineups
What did he mean? Slot reacts to Salah's cryptic contract post
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayern MunichBayern97203272523
2RB Leipzig96211551020
3Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt95222314917
4Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen94412015516
5Borussia DortmundDortmund95131715216
6Freiburg95131311216
7Union BerlinUnion Berlin943298115
8Stuttgart93421716113
9Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach94141514113
10Werder Bremen93331520-512
11Augsburg93241320-711
12Heidenheim93151212010
13Mainz 05Mainz92431213-110
14Wolfsburg92341617-19
15St Pauli9225711-48
16Hoffenheim92251319-68
17Holstein Kiel91261123-125
18VfL BochumVfL Bochum9018929-201
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Hoping for the best: Chelsea star Palmer 'to undergo scan' on knee injury

1

HF

Five Man City players missing from training ahead of Sporting clash

2

FM

Preview: Besiktas vs. Malmo - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

3

PB

Was the injury serious? City reveal Sporting squad after Haaland scare

NEW

4

WT

Mainoo, Maguire return dates: Man United injury, suspension news vs. PAOK

5

MM

Premier League move? Real Madrid 'questioning Vinicius Jr commitment level'

6

PL

Preview: Inter Milan vs. Arsenal - prediction, team news, lineups

7

PI

Walking a tightrope: Which two Liverpool stars could miss Real Madrid clash?

8

WA

Pictured: Liverpool star returns to training after painful injury

9

PL

Chelsea suffer Osimhen transfer blow as £42m January twist 'revealed'

10

CS


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .