With automatic qualification for the Champions League round of 16 at stake for Bayer Leverkusen, they will hope to beat visitors Sparta Prague on Wednesday at BayArena and advance to the next stage.

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The German side will feel they have put themselves in an unnecessarily precarious scenario given they were beaten by Atletico despite having a player advantage from the 23rd minute, as well as taking the lead shortly after half time.

To their credit, the hosts have already secured a round of 16 playoff spot, and their defeat at the hands of their Spanish opponents was their first in 13 games, with the team winning all of their previous 11 matches.

Manager Xabi Alonso failed to guide his side to victory on Saturday when the Bundesliga champions drew 2-2 with RB Leipzig, a game in which they squandered a two-goal lead despite only facing 0.73 xG.

Die Schwarzroten have now fallen six points behind league-leaders Bayern Munich, though they are five points ahead of third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.

Alonso's side have scored 17 goals in their last seven outings in all competitions, and they found the back of the net six times in the two Champions League games prior to their defeat against Atletico Madrid.

Leverkusen's form at home is phenomenal considering they are unbeaten in their past 13 fixtures at BayArena, with seven of their 11 victories in that period coming in their seven most recent games.

Opponents Sparta Prague were beaten 1-0 by Serie A champions Inter Milan last Wednesday, and though they did not face a single big chance, the defeat confirmed their elimination from the tournament.

Boss Lars Friis's side started their European campaign well, winning their first game 3-0 against RB Salzburg on September 18 before drawing 1-1 with last season's Bundesliga runners-up Stuttgart on October 1.

However, the visitors have been beaten in each of their last five Champions League matches, and have conceded four or more goals in three of those games.

In fact, Sparta have been defeated in their two most recent away fixtures in the competition, losing by a cumulative score of 9-2.

Friis's team are third in the Czech Liga with 37 points, but are 13 points behind leaders Slavia Prague.

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Kovar; Mukiele, Tah, Tapsoba, Grimaldo; Xhaka, Palacios; Frimpong, Wirtz, Tella; Schick

Sparta Prague possible starting lineup:

Jensen; Vitik, Panak, Sorensen; Wiesner, Sadilek, Kairinen, Laci, Rynes; Olatunji, Birmancevic