4 Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs 3 VfL Wolfsburg
Bayer Leverkusen face Wolfsburg after UCL win over Feyenoord.
Bayer Leverkusen aim to extend their winning streak to three as they host Wolfsburg at BayArena this Sunday at 14:30 GMT+1, following a dominant start in the revamped UEFA Champions League.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Leverkusen swept Feyenoord aside in the opening fixture of the revamped UEFA Champions League clash, which ended in a 4-0 win. A brace from Bundesliga Player of the Season Florian Wirtz (5’, 36’) formed part of the goal haul that helped Leverkusen earn three points alongside 14 other sides in the league phase of the competition.
They return from De Kuip for this weekend’s home fixture against Wolfsburg, hoping to follow up on last weekend’s 4-1 win over Hoffenheim. Leverkusen are 5th with six points (WLW) before Sunday’s clash.
Extending a five-game unbeaten run against the visitors will be one of their many objectives in this fixture against Wolfsburg (3W, 2D, 0L). Victory over the visitors would not only leave Bayer Leverkusen with back-to-back Bundesliga wins but also with three consecutive victories across all competitions.
‘We don't have much time to prepare for Wolfsburg, but that's nothing new for us,’ Xabi Alonso said on Friday. ‘Today the focus is on regeneration, and then tomorrow it's match preparation. We have to make the best use of the time we have,’ he added.
The Leverkusen boss is expected to deploy his preferred 3-4-3 formation with midweek hero Florian Wirtz in attack alongside Victor Boniface and Amine Adli. Die Werkself have no injury worries ahead of the weekend clash.
VfL Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg are coming off the back of a 2-1 loss to Frankfurt, with a brace from the club's former forward Omar Marmoush [30’, 82’ P.] ensuring the visitors failed to earn a point despite a goal from Ridle Baku [76’].
Bouncing back to winning ways will be a subject that commands plenty of interest at the weekend for the visitors, who are 12th on the Bundesliga table with three points from as many games [1W, 0D, 2L]. This is the first time in 11 years that Wolfsburg have suffered two defeats in the opening three games of the competition.
While they will be looking to earn a win when they visit Leverkusen, the last time Wolfsburg defeated a defending Bundesliga champion was back in 2015, when they earned a 4-1 win over Bayern Munich. A 4-2-3-1 formation with Patrick Wimmer in attack is expected for this fixture.
Lovro Majer remains ruled out along with Bartosz Bialek, while Rogerio and Lukas Nmecha [thigh injury] are in doubt for Sunday's game.
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