If visitors Bayer Leverkusen have any hope of retaining their Bundesliga crown, they must beat relegation-threatened Heidenheim on Saturday at Voith-Arena.
The hosts are third last in 16th place with just 22 points and occupy the league’s relegation playoff spot, while the second-placed champions beat VfL Bochum 3-1 on March 28 but their points total of 59 is six fewer than first-placed Bayern Munich.
Match preview
© Imago
Heidenheim emerged as 1-0 winners against Wolfsburg last Saturday thanks to a first-half penalty, and the victors denied the Wolves any big chances until two minutes from time.
Head coach Frank Schmidt has now overseen two consecutive wins in the Bundesliga, something they had not achieved since their first two league fixtures of the season in late August and early September.
His side’s clean sheet last time out was their first in 13 matches, and the team’s return of four goals in their past two was as many as they scored in their prior five.
The hosts are only three points from 15th-placed St Pauli, but they are also just two points in front of 17th-placed Bochum, who occupy the final automatic relegation spot.
Heidenheim beat Holstein Kiel 3-1 on March 16 in their most recent home match, but they succumbed to defeat in 10 of their previous 13 at Voith-Arena.
© Imago
As for Leverkusen, their victory against Bochum was relatively straightforward and they can consider themselves unlucky to have not kept a clean sheet given Bochum’s goal only came about as a result of a poor header to goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky from Granit Xhaka.
Manager Xabi Alonso will be immensely disappointed by the performance of his team on Wednesday in the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal when they lost 2-1 against third tier side Arminia Bielefeld.
His side’s defeat means they have now failed to prevent their opponents from scoring for seven consecutive games and have conceded 13 goals in their last six.
Die Schwarzroten beat Heidenheim 5-2 on November 23 in their first meeting in the Bundesliga this season, coming back to win despite trailing 2-0 after 21 minutes.
Leverkusen’s form is poor, with the club experiencing four defeats in their six most recent fixtures – winning twice – which is as many as they had lost in their previous 39 games.
Alonso’s team have also lost two of their past three away matches, but they are unbeaten in their last 30 Bundesliga outings on the road, emerging triumphant on 22 occasions.
Team News
© Imago
Heidenheim will have to contend with the absences of midfielders Julian Niehues and Thomas Leon Keller, so perhaps Schmidt will start Jan Schoppner and Niklas Dorsch together.
The duo may be stationed in front of a back three consisting of Patrick Mainka, Benedikt Gimber and Marnon Busch.
In attack, Adrian Beck could start in an attacking role behind forwards Marvin Pieringer and Maximilian Breunig given Budu Zivzivadze and Mathias Honsak are unavailable.
Leverkusen’s injury issues are piling up, with defenders Edmond Tapsoba, Jeanuel Belocian and Mario Hermoso set to miss out.
Alonso is almost certain to start centre-backs Nordi Mukiele, Jonathan Tah and Piero Hincapie, with the trio likely to be fielded behind a double pivot featuring Granit Xhaka and Robert Andrich considering Exequiel Palacios is out due to a groin injury.
Florian Wirtz could return to action in the next few days, while Martin Terrier‘s season is over, so expect Patrick Schick, Aleix Garcia and Amine Adli to appear in a front three.
Heidenheim possible starting lineup:
Muller; Mainka, Gimber, Busch; Traore, Schoppner, Dorsch, Kratzig; Beck; Pieringer, Zivzivadze
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Mukiele, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich, Grimaldo; Garcia, Adli; Schick
We say: Heidenheim 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen will be keen to bounce back after their embarrassing defeat in the DFB-Pokal, but they could struggle against an improved Heidenheim side.
The visitors’ showings on the road in the Bundesliga have been phenomenal, and while they are unlikely to emerge unscathed on Saturday, they could earn all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
