Will the Werkself still be in the Europa League?

This week already sees the sixth and final matchday in the group stages of the European Cup. For the German clubs, the international season has been good to outstanding so far. The inglorious exception is Bayer Leverkusen. The Werkself is the only one of the eight German clubs that does not have it in its own hands to spend the winter in the European Cup.

In Group B of the Champions League, Bayer 04 is last with only four points. The round of 16 is no longer attainable. However, third place and thus a slip into the Europa League is still possible. For this to happen, however, the Leverkusen team must win more points at home against Bruges than Atletico Madrid win away in Porto. To increase the pressure on the Spaniards, the Werkself should definitely win their home match against the Belgian champions.

Brugge, like Porto, are already safely in the last 16. It is only a question of which of the two will progress as group winner and which as runner-up. Perhaps that’s why the Belgians won’t go all out for a win in the BayArena and won’t have their full complement of players either. That’s why the prediction for the match between Leverkusen and Bruges is for a home win.

In addition, the Belgians have won only one of their last 15 matches in Germany. However, that was the last encounter in Leipzig in pre-season. Bayer, on the other hand, have won both home games against Belgian clubs. Therefore, you can certainly think about placing a bet on a win for the Bundesliga team in the Leverkusen vs Bruges match.

Leverkusen – Statistics & current form

There’s no other way to put it, but Bayer Leverkusen’s season so far has been beneath them. In the DFB Pokal, they were knocked out by third division team Elversberg. In the European Cup, they are threatened with elimination after the group phase on Tuesday, and in the Bundesliga, the Werkself finds itself in the middle of the relegation battle. The change of coach from Gerardo Seoane to Xabi Alonso has not yet borne fruit.

Crisis continues under Alonso

Bayer Leverkusen have gone five games without a win under the Spaniard. In fact, with Xabi Alonso, there has only been one success in the Bundesliga against Schalker, who are currently overstretched. Bayer are currently in the relegation zone. There aren’t many things that really give hope before the last group game in the top division.

The bottom line is that this weekend’s performance at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga was another poor showing for the Werkself. A team with such quality did not create a single goal-scoring chance over 90 minutes and in the end lost 0:2, which was highly deserved. However, Xabi Alonso also sent a strange formation onto the pitch that could hardly set any offensive accents.

On Tuesday, however, Bayer 04 will certainly try everything again and there will probably be a bigger rotation for that. Patrik Schick should slide into the starting eleven, but he has yet to score in 18 Champions League games. The suspended Piero Hincapie and the injured Charles Aranguiz, Florian Wirtz and Serdar Azmoun are not included.

Predicted Leverkusen line-up:
Hradecky – Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba – Bakker, Andrich, Demirbay, Frimpong – Hudson-Odoi, Schick, Diaby – Coach: Alonso

Last matches played by Leverkusen:

Bundesliga
29/10/2022 – RB Leipzig 2 – 0 Bayer Leverkusen

Champions League Grp. B
27/10/2022 – Atletico Madrid 2 – 2 Bayer Leverkusen

Bundesliga
22/10/2022 – Bayer Leverkusen 2 – 2 VfL Wolfsburg

15/10/2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 5 – 1 Bayer Leverkusen

Champions League Grp. B
13/10/2022 – Bayer Leverkusen 0 – 3 FC Porto

Bruges – Statistics & current form

FC Brugge are the surprise team this season in the Champions League. The Belgian champions have already qualified early for the last 16 and even have group victory in their own hands with a win at the BayArena. It would be the first time that Club Brugge would enter the knockout round in the premier league as the league leaders.

Away very stable

But the Belgians still have room to improve in the Jupiler League. After 15 matchdays, Carl Hoefkens’ team is in third place with 32 points, but eight points behind leaders Genk. After all, the Belgians have only lost one of their last six games, which is why we can imagine predicting a point win for the visitors in the match between Leverkusen and Brugge. After all, the Belgians have yet to concede a goal away from home in the Champions League this season.

On Saturday, the team from Oostende was the guest at the Breydelstadion in the Jupiler League. At the break it looked like a clear affair after Hans Vanaken and Ferran Jutgla scored a 2:0 lead. Club Brugge rallied late on to win 4-2 after a Casper Nielsen goal and an own goal.

On Tuesday, the Belgians will have problems especially in defence. With Abakar Sylla, Denis Odoi and Raphael Onyedika, three central players will be absent due to suspension. With Mats Rits and Clinton Mata, two other defensive players are also injured. Andreas Skov Olsen is also questionable after a hip contusion. The Dane will probably be given a rest.

Predicted line-up of Brugge:
Mignolet – Mechele, Boyata, Meijer – Balanta, Nielsen – Buchanan, Vanaken, Nusa – Jutgla, Lang – Coach: Hoefkens

Last matches played by Brugge:

Jupiler Liga
30/10/2022 – Club Brugge 4 – 2 KV Oostende

Champions League Grp. B
26/10/2022 – Club Brugge 0 – 4 FC Porto

Jupiler Liga
23/10/2022 – Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 2 – 2 Club Bruges

20/10/2022 – Club Brugge 3 – 0 VV St. Truiden

16/10/2022 – RSC Anderlecht 0 – 1 Club Brugge

Leverkusen – Brugge Direct comparison / H2H balance

To date, the teams of Bayer Leverkusen and FC Brugge have only met twice. The first encounter took place in the Europa League in 2006. At that time, there were five teams in one group, but also only one first round. At the Breydelstadion, the two rivals drew 1-1. Bruges were eliminated after the group stage, Leverkusen progressed to the next round.

The last encounter was the first leg in the current Champions League. This match was also played in Bruges. At the beginning of September, the Belgians won 1-0 at home after a goal by Abakar Sylla. This means that FC Brugge have not yet lost to Bayer Leverkusen, although after two games the significance of this statistic should not be set too high.

Leverkusen – Brugge Tip

Bayer Leverkusen are not in a good mood. For five games, Xabi Alonso’s eleven has been waiting for a win. The last 16 in the Champions League is no longer within reach, but if the Werkself gets more points on Tuesday than Atletico Madrid in the parallel match in Porto, then they can at least still spend the winter in the Europa League. So in their own match against Bruges, they can only go full speed ahead.

In general, the form speaks more in favour of the Belgians. Club Brugge is already safely in the last 16 and has only lost one of its last six matches. However, coach Carl Hoefkens will have to do without half of his defence and will therefore have to make some changes.

Whether the Belgians advance as group winners or runners-up will make no difference to them. In the round of 16, they will have to face a tough opponent anyway. That’s why we expect Bayer to want the win more on Tuesday. That is why we have decided to play the betting odds on a home win between Leverkusen and Bruges, despite the weak form of the Werkself.