Bayer Leverkusen welcome relegation threatened Wolfsburg to the BayArena on Saturday, with the hosts desperate to bounce back from a chaotic 3-3 draw against rock bottom Heidenheim while the visitors haven’t won a league game since January.
Kasper Hjulmand’s side sit comfortably in sixth place, eight points clear of seventh placed Eintracht Frankfurt. That gap is nothing to sniff at, but with only 21 points left to play for this season, Die Werkself know they need to put together a proper run if they are to gatecrash the top four.
The problem? Their last outing was an absolute horror show.
Leverkusen were 2-0 up against Heidenheim the division’s worst team, remember thanks to first half strikes from Malik Tillman and Patrick Schick. Game over, surely? Not quite. The virtually relegated outfit stormed back after the break to snatch a point, leaving Hjulmand fuming on the sidelines.
That cannot happen again. Not if they have serious designs on Champions League football.
Team news: Leverkusen hit by injuries and suspension
Hjulmand has a few headaches to contend with.
Arthur and Lucas Vázquez are both unavailable. Liverpool loanee Jarell Quansah who has been steady since arriving on Merseyside picked up a thigh injury in that Heidenham draw and will continue his recovery from the sidelines.
To make matters worse, midfielder Aleix García is suspended for this one. That is a significant absence in the middle of the park.
Expected line up: Flekken, Oermann, Andrich, Tapsoba, Culbreath, Palacios, Fernández, Grimaldo, Maza, Poku, Schick.
Wolfsburg in freefall
If Leverkusen think they have problems, spare a thought for Dieter Hecking.
Wolfsburg sit 17th in the Bundesliga table. Seventeenth. That is automatic relegation territory, five points adrift of safety with seven games remaining.
Their last win came way back in January against St. Pauli, the team they are currently trailing by three points. Since then, Die Wolfe have gone ten matches without a single victory. Ten. It is the kind of run that gets managers sacked and players hiding from social media.
The hope now is simply to claw their way to a relegation playoff spot. Even that feels optimistic.
Team news: Wolfsburg missing key names
Hecking will be without Kilian Fischer and Rogerio due to injury. Moritz Jenz is also out after picking up a suspension in his last outing.
Saël Kumbedi and Joakim Mæhle are expected to start on the flanks, while Jonas Wind leads the attack with Napoli loanee Jesper Lindstrøm and Mohamed Amoura operating just behind him.
Expected line up: Grabara, Belocian, Vavro, Koulierakis, Kumbedi, Eriksen, Souza, Mæhle, Lindstrøm, Amoura, Wind.
The stakes
For Leverkusen, this is simple. Win, and they keep the pressure on the teams above them. Drop points, and that top four dream starts to look awfully like a mirage.
For Wolfsburg, it is even starker. Lose, and the gap to safety could stretch to eight points with only six games left. That would be curtains.
The BayArena has not always been a fortress this season, but against a team in Wolfsburg’s state? Anything less than three points would be a disaster for Hjulmand’s men.
Kick off awaits. The excuses are running out for both sides.
