Group finals with test match character
There is still a lot of excitement in some of the groups in the Europa League on Thursday, especially because third place is also important this season with regard to staying in the Conference League for the winter. In Group G, however, nothing is at stake on the last matchday. All four places have already been filled. If it wasn’t about money for clubs and UEFA, the match between Ferencvaros Budapest and Bayer Leverkusen could have been left to chance
The Werkself has already wrapped up the group win with 13 points. Bayer are already safely through to the last 16. Betis Sevilla, second in the table, will play on in the sixteenth finals. Celtic Glasgow are relegated to the Conference League and for the point-less Hungarians from Budapest it is their last international match of the season on Thursday.
Five games and five defeats initially sound as if Peter Stöger’s team has been completely out of its depth, but more often than not it has been very close when the Hungarian champions have been on the pitch. Therefore, in the duel between Ferencvaros Budapest and Leverkusen, the forecast is once again for a close game.
Overall, however, there is more to suggest that Gerardo Seoane’s team will also win their last match on Thursday, although it is always important to see which formations the coaches will use for this match.
Ferencvaros Budapest – Statistics & current form
There are some critical voices in the Hungarian capital because the champions once again had no chance in the Europa League. The Fradi have missed out on the international goals again this year. At least things are looking good at the national level this season. They are currently aiming to defend their title.
It’s not going well at home
With 32 points from 14 games, Budapest lead the table ahead of outsiders Kisvarda, but still have one game less on their account. In the last five games, there was only the one defeat in the Europa League at Betis Sevilla. However, Peter Stöger’s team only managed one home win in the last six games in their own arena.
Therefore, we do not expect it to be promising to play the odds on a home win in the duel between Ferencvaros Budapest and Leverkusen. Last weekend, the Fradi hosted Puskas FC. Despite a 1-0 lead from Aissa Laidouni, it was again only enough for a 1-1 draw in the end.
The Hungarians will also have to see with which formation they will start on Thursday. Peter Stöger is also likely to make use of an extensive rotation, because the priority in the meantime is again to become champions in Hungary. Apart from David Siger, all players should be fit. It will be interesting to see whether Marko Marin will be allowed on the pitch against his compatriots.
Predicted line-up of Ferencvaros Budapest:
Dibusz – Civic, Kovacevic, Blazic, Botka – Besic, Laidouni – Nguen, Marin, Zachariassen – Mmaee – Coach: Stöger
Last matches played by Ferencvaros Budapest:
NB I
12/04 2021 – Ferencvaros 1 – 1 Puskas FC Academy
11/28 2021 – Mezokovesd SE 0 – 3 Ferencvaros
Europa League Grp. G
11/25 2021 – Real Betis 2 – 0 Ferencvaros
NB I
11/21 2021 – Ferencvaros 3 – 0 Fehervar FC
11/07 2021 – Kisvarda – 0 – 4 Ferencvaros
Leverkusen – Statistics & current form
The season of Bayer Leverkusen runs in waves. Winning streaks alternate with negative results. At the moment, the Werkself is on a high again and is rushing from victory to victory. In the Bundesliga, Bayer 04 has climbed back up to third place. Admittedly, they are already seven points behind the leaders Bayern Munich.
Winning streak of the Werkself
In the last four games, Leverkusen have won four and shown themselves to be very strong offensively with a total of 14 goals. Not only does it sound like Gerardo Seoane’s team will win on Thursday, but it also sounds like there’s no getting around a prediction of more than 2.5 goals in the match between Ferencvaros Budapest and Leverkusen
Last weekend, Bayer 04 once again impressed. However, it has to be said that last-place Greuther Fürth were guests at the BayArena. Amine Adli and Edmond Tapsoba provided the early 2:0 lead, Piero Hincapie marked the 3:1 before the break. After the change the Schick show followed. Patrik Schick scored all four goals in the second half to win 7:1.
The starting eleven will now have a completely different face on Thursday. Lukas Hradecky, Patrik Schick and Florian Wirtz will probably not even travel to Budapest. Eight to ten changes in the starting eleven would not be a surprise. Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Julian Baumgartlinger (both injured) as well as Kerem Demirbay will not be options, though.
Projected Leverkusen line-up:
Lunev – Sinkgraven, Kossounou, Tapsoba, Retsos – Aranguiz, Palacios – Amiri, Paulinho, Bellarabi – Alario – Coach: Seoane
Last matches played by Leverkusen:
1st Bundesliga
12/04 2021 – Bayer Leverkusen 7 – 1 Greuther Fürth
11/28 2021 – RB Leipzig 1 – 3 Bayer Leverkusen
Europa League Grp. G
11/25 2021 – Bayer Leverkusen 3 – 2 Celtic Glasgow
1st Bundesliga
11/20 2021 – Bayer Leverkusen 1 – 0 Vfl Bochum
11/07 2021 – Hertha Berlin 1 – 1 Bayer Leverkusen
Ferencvaros Budapest – Leverkusen Direct comparison / H2H-balance
In fact, Ferencvaros Budapest and Bayer Leverkusen have only faced each other once before today. After the Werkself’s 2-1 home win in September, Leverkusen are naturally ahead in the direct comparison. Ryan Mmaee even gave the Hungarians the lead, but Exequiel Palacios and Florian Wirtz turned the game in the Germans’ favour.
Ferencvaros Budapest – Leverkusen Tip
It remains to be seen how intense this match will be on Thursday. Both coaches will use this game more for testing purposes. Gerardo Seoane in particular has announced that he will give numerous players from the second row a chance. However, Bayer 04 still have very high quality in this area as well.
The Hungarians have won only one of their last six home games, while Bayer 04 recently showed four wins in a row. Even if the regular line-up does not start, Gerardo Seoane’s team will be full of self-confidence.
As already mentioned, we also think some goals are possible. Betting on over-goals should be a good alternative, perhaps even in combination with the match outcome. We think that it should rather not be a high-class match and have decided to play the betting odds on an away match between Ferencvaros Budapest and Leverkusen.
