Bayer Leverkusen-Mainz is a match of the 23rd day of the Bundesliga and is played on Friday at 8:30pm: live TV, probable formations, predictions.
After the clear defeat in the direct clash two weeks ago, Bayern Munich suffered the blow and lost the next two matches as well, in the Champions League against Lazio and even in the league against Bochum.
Bayer Leverkusen, on the other hand, did not halt its march toward what would be the Werkself’s first triumph since the Bundesliga has existed. By virtue of their success over newly promoted Heidenheim (1-2), Xabi Alonso’s men sprinted to +8 over the Bavarians, who after 11 long years of total domination could abdicate and cede the scepter of German champions to the Rossoneri. It has been a truly outstanding season so far for Wirtz and his teammates, who are in the running on three fronts: in the national cup they have made it all the way to the semifinals, where they will meet Fortuna Dusseldorf – a team that plays in the cadet league – while in the Europa League they are waiting to know the name of their next opponent in the round of 16. They are also the only team still undefeated in Europe’s top 5 leagues, play spectacular and effective soccer, and show no signs of letting up, nor are they proving to be suffering from vertigo.
In the 23rd-day advance, Bayer Leverkusen has an opportunity to stretch further ahead of Bayern Munich (who will face Leipzig twenty-four hours later) by hosting second-last-place Mainz at the BayArena. The red-and-whites are fresh from a very valuable victory in their direct clash with Augsburg, decided by a goal from defender van den Berg (1-0). Pure oxygen for the Nullfunfers, who recently changed coach again, relying on Danish Bo Henriksen. The salvation zone, however, remains a full 7 points away.
The prediction
A match that should not hold any surprises, if we consider that Bayer Leverkusen is undefeated for an impressive 32 matches (28 of which they have won) in all competitions and that Mainz lies in second to last place in the standings, the only team not to have won an away game. We therefore imagine a clear-cut victory by Xabi Alonso’s men, who should win with at least two goals to spare.
Bayer Leverkusen-Mainz
likely lineups.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN (3-4-2-1): Hrádecký; Stanišić, Tah, Hincapié; Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich, Grimaldo; Adli, Wirtz; Schick.
MAINZ (3-4-3): Zentner; Kohr, van den Berg, Guilavogui; Mwene, Barreiro, Amiri, Caci; Gruda, Onisiwo, Lee.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1
