Bayer Leverkusen-Bochum is a Bundesliga Week 17 match and is played on Wednesday at 20:30: TV, line-ups, predictions.
Xabi Alonso certainly holds a special place among the greatest midfielders in football history. And it’s hard to find anyone who disagrees with that.
It’s not automatic, however, that he should also make waves on the bench, like many of his colleagues (see the Lampard case). However, his debut at the helm of an important and ambitious team like Bayer Leverkusen, which he took over last autumn, bodes well. The former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich director, at his first real experience – before arriving in Germany he had coached the youth teams of Real Madrid and Real Sociedad B – managed in just a few weeks to lift a team that had found itself in the relegation zone after the first two months of the Bundesliga. The turning point came in November, with three victories in a row against Union Berlin, Cologne and Stuttgart, three teams bent by scoring a total of nine goals and conceding only one. And even in the first official match of the new year, the Aspirins continued to convince, winning the Rhine derby against Borussia Monchengladbach in a crunch 2-3.
Leverkusen, the comeback operation continues
Returning to the fight for Europe is the goal of Xabi Alonso and his men: Leverkusen are now in mid-table but have nine points to make up on seventh place. Difficult, but it must not be forgotten that there is a whole return leg to play.
Gamboa of Bochum, absent through injury
Bayer certainly cannot afford any slumps, especially against teams that on paper are within their reach. Maximum attention, therefore, to a Bochum side that is growing match by match. Thomas Letsch’s white-blue side have also picked up where they left off, and last Saturday they brought home three platinum points in their clash with Hertha Berlin (3-1), leaving the relegation zone after some time.
The Prediction
Bochum are less fearsome on the road, and in light of Bayer Leverkusen’s outstanding form, we assume a clear success for Xabi Alonso’s Aspirins, who in terms of quality and depth of squad should be at the top of the table. The total goals will most likely be at least three.
Bayer Leverkusen-Bochum matchday squad
- BAYER LEVERKUSEN (3-4-1-2): Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapié; Frimpong, Andrich, Palacios, Bakker; Wirtz; Diaby, Adli.
- BOCHUM (4-3-3): Riemann; Janko, Ordets, Schlotterbeck, Soares; Stöger, Losilla, Förster; Asano, Hofmann, Antwi-Adjei.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 4-2
