Bayer Leverkusen will continue their charge towards a maiden Bundesliga title when they welcome Wolfsburg to the BayArena on Sunday.
Xabi Alonso's men moved even further ahead at the top last weekend, as their win paired with Bayern Munich's draw at Freiburg put a 10-point gap between the sides.
Match preview
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A 2-0 Rhine derby victory over Koln saw Leverkusen extend their lead at the top, after Bayern had slipped up on Friday night.
Die Werkself capitalised on an early red card for their Rhine neighbours, before their two exemplary wing-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo netted the goals to seal another three points.
That extended their unbeaten league start to 24 games, matching the club's all-time record set in the 2009-10 season, but the 'Eternal Bridesmaids' are set to clinch the title this time around following almost a decade-and-a-half of dominance from Bayern.
Leverkusen's tally of 64 points from 24 Bundesliga games has only ever been bettered by Pep Guardiola's Bayern in 2013-14 (68), and they are now just nine points shy of equalling their best-ever league tally, set in 1999-00.
Their record German unbeaten record across all competition continued on Thursday too, but Azeri underdogs Qarabag made Alonso's side seriously work to extend it to 35 matches in the last 16 of the Europa League.
Trailing 2-0, Leverkusen roared back late on as substitute Patrik Schick scored two minutes into injury time to snatch a draw and the advantage heading into the home leg next week.
With Wolfsburg up next, Leverkusen will look to repeat the feat after they won 2-1 at the Volkswagen Arena in October, thanks to goals from Frimpong and Grimaldo once again.
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That saw them extend their unbeaten run against Wolfsburg to four matches, but remarkably, they are seven without a win at home to their upcoming opponents, conceding 17 in the process.
While recent meetings here have gone in the visitors' favour, there will not be many people backing them to come away with anything from this encounter.
Niko Kovac's side are still winless after eight games in 2024 despite losing just twice, but one of those rare games that has not ended in a draw saw them lose 3-2 to Stuttgart last weekend.
That defeat means they remain level with Bochum and Union Berlin on 25 points just above the relegation zone, but the eight-point gap to Koln is set to bail them out with the bottom three struggling.
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Leverkusen will be without the hugely influential Frimpong this weekend after his booking last weekend triggered a one-match suspension.
It is therefore somewhat surprising that the Dutch wing-back was one of the many players rested in midweek though, as Alonso was almost culpable of rotating too heavily.
Granit Xhaka, Florian Wirtz, Jonas Hofmann and Schick were also only on the bench from the start, as Leverkusen scraped a late draw in Azerbaijan.
On the injury front, attacking duo Victor Boniface and Arthur remain the only players absent for the hosts here.
Wolfsburg will be without an important wide defender of their own, as Joakim Maehle is also suspended after being booked last weekend.
While the visitors will be boosted by potential returns for Mattias Svanberg and Rogerio, Jakub Kaminski will miss the match with illness.
Svanberg returned to training on Friday and is in contention, while Rogerio has been with the team all week and is likely to start.
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Stanisic, Tah, Hincapie; Tella, Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Schick, Wirtz
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Baku, Lacroix, Jenz, Rogerio; Cerny, Gerhardt, Arnold, Majer; Wind, Behrens
We say: Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Wolfsburg
No team in Germany or on the continent appear capable of stopping Leverkusen at the moment, despite a wobble in midweek, and the league leaders should cruise to another victory this weekend.
Wolfsburg have been leaking goals with regularity in 2024 so far, and that has contributed to the fact they are still yet to win since returning from the winter break, and they are unlikely to break that duck in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
