Bayer Leverkusen vs. Werder Bremen preview: Die Werkself looking for response after Bayern defeat | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen are on the brink of a last-16 exit from the Champions League after they fell to a heavy 3-0 defeat in Wednesday’s first leg against Bayern. Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala grabbed a goal apiece to give the Bavarians a two-goal lead, before Leverkusen’s Nordi Mukiele was dismissed just after the hour mark for two bookable offences. Kane went on to add a third from the penalty spot to leave die Werkself with a mountain to climb in Tuesday’s second leg at the BayArena.

Xabi Alonso’s side will now turn their focus back to the defence of their Bundesliga title. Similar to their European campaign, Leverkusen need something special to happen if they are to close the eight-point gap to leaders Bayern in the final 10 matches of the Bundesliga season. Die Werkself are currently enjoying a 22-game unbeaten league run (W14, D7), including away victories over Holstein Kiel and Eintracht Frankfurt in their last two top-flight matches.

Leverkusen have avoided defeat in each of their previous nine meetings with Saturday’s opponents. In fact, they have recorded three wins in their last four head-to-head meetings, featuring a dominant 5-0 win in last season’s home encounter.

Team News

Jeanuël Belocian and Martin Terrier are sidelined with knee and Achilles injuries respectively. Meanwhile, midfielder Robert Andrich remains unavailable due to illness.

Werder Bremen

Bremen will be low on confidence after losing each of their last five competitive matches since beating Mainz at the end of January. Ole Werner’s side fell to league defeats against Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim and Freiburg, before they suffered a disappointing 3-1 loss against third-tier Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals. They experienced another frustrating outing in last Saturday’s home clash against Wolfsburg, with Mitchell Weiser’s 90th-minute effort proving to be a mere consolation in a 2-1 defeat.

With four of those losses taking place in the league, Bremen have drifted away from the European picture, with eight points separating them from the top six with 10 matches left to play. Werner’s side will be desperate to start a positive run of results this weekend, but they may prove difficult given the fact they have lost three of their previous four away league matches, conceding at least three goals in each of those defeats. They have also not beaten Leverkusen since recording a 3-1 away win in March 2019.

Team News

Marco Friedl and Niklas Stark are sidelined with knee injuries, while Marvin Ducksch is ruled out due to a thigh problem.