Written by Ben Salley@Sallyben
Bayer Leverkusen will face Freiburg at the BayArena in Saturday’s first Bundesliga match, aiming for an eighth consecutive win in all competitions.
Photo by: Sebastian Widman/Getty Images
bayer leverkusen
Leverkusen have been in great form since returning from the international break in November, recording seven consecutive wins in all competitions. Die Werkself started the season with wins against Heidenheim and Union Berlin in the league, and a 5-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League. They defeated Bayern Munich and St. Pauli in the DFB Pokal and league matches respectively, and narrowly defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League.
Manager Xabi Alonso was also successful away at Augsburg last Saturday, taking advantage of Bayern’s defeat to Mainz to pick up three points. Martin Telia and Florian Wirtz each scored for a 2-0 away win, bringing second-placed Leverkusen within four points of leaders Bayern.
Having maintained their unbeaten record in the away league, Leverkusen will return to BayArena aiming for a seven-game unbeaten run at home in the Bundesliga. The hosts had several close wins in two meetings with Freiburg last season, including a 2-1 win at home in October 2023.
team news
Alonso will be without the injured trio of Jonas Hoffmann, Amin Adli and Victor Boniface.
Freiburg
Freiburg will enter the weekend in fifth place with seven wins, three draws and four losses out of 14 league games. They have proven difficult to beat in recent times, losing just once in their last six Bundesliga games. The only defeat during this period was a 4-0 loss against Borussia Dortmund on November 23rd.
They eventually bounced back, picking up seven points from their last three league games. Julian Schuster scored a 3-1 win at home against Borussia Mönchengladbach, followed by a 1-1 draw away with Hoffenheim. Freiburg then survived a late fightback to pick up maximum points in their recent home match against Wolfsburg. Lukas Kubler scored his second goal, and Michael Gregoritsch found the back of the net to give Freiburg a three-goal lead just after the hour mark. Goals each from Jonas Windt and Matthias Svanberg gave Wolfsburg late hopes, but in the end Freiburg overcame some nervy final moments to secure their third win in four home league games.
They have not won any of their four away Bundesliga games since defeating Werder Bremen on October 5, and will be looking to carry that form into the road.
team news
Freiburg will not be able to call up Daniel-Kofi Kyele, who is still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
