Deslun Bundesliga champion Bayer Leverkusen will host Borussia Dortmund in Bayarena on Sunday in the penultimate game of the season.
The host made a late comeback in a 2-2 draw with Freiburg on May 3, scoring twice after the 82nd minute, despite only 0.29 xg throughout the game. Although Leverkusen has managed three clean sheets in the past five outings, their offense has been reduced, with only six goals at the time, compared to eight of the first three fixtures.
Confirmation that manager Xabi Alonso will leave the club at the end of the campaign, a clash of accumulation has been overshadowed, with strong speculation linking him to the summer move to Real Madrid. Leverkusen led Dortmund 3-2 in the league meeting in January, but it was still their only win against visitors in the last five meetings, suffering two defeats in that match.
Although Die werkself remained unbeaten in the last five of all matches, they also scored three draws in that range. At Bayarena, the men of Alonso continued to be inconsistent, winning twice and drawing their last three games, but had not won three home games before, suffering two losses and draws.
Team News
Leverkusen will have no defenders Jeanuel Belocian, Mario Hermoso and Nordi Mukiele due to injury. Still, regulars Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah and Piero Hincapie are perfectly suited and are expected to anchor the backline.
Granit Xhaka remains the central figure in the midfield and should start with Aleix Garcia while Florian Wirtz will launch an offense with Emiliano Buendia and Patrik Schick.
Dortmund Boron
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund arrived at Leverkusen with a 4-0 victory over Wolfsburg, where they created four big opportunities and scored nearly 2.5 xg. Manager Niko Kovac will be pleased with his team's recent offensive format, scoring 12 goals in the past four games,,,,, Although their defense remains a concern, five goals were admitted in the same game.
Dortmund currently sits in the Europa League, second only to Freiburg, fourth place, but there are still two games left.
BVB entered Sunday's clash, waving a wave of momentum, winning five of the last six games in all matches. However, their away performance has been unstable over the past five road trips, two wins, a draw and two losses, indicating vulnerability when not on the signal Iduna Park.
Team News
Dortmund had relatively few damage problems, with only centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck ruled out before October, assaulter Maximilian Beier continued until the end of May. Kovac may stick with his favorites of Niklas Süle, Waldemar Anton and Ramy Bensebaini's three.
Serhou Guirassy, who scored 32 goals in all games, will hit 32 goals in the attack and lead the offense with the creative support of Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi.