Bundesliga | Gameweek 7

Oct 19, 2024 at 2.30pm UK

BayArena

B. Leverkusen vs Frankfurt

Match preview

Although Leverkusen no longer face the pressure of maintaining their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga after losing at home to RB Leipzig in round two, the defending champions' high expectations have undoubtedly led to high expectations.

While Alonso's men sit three points behind Bayern Munich - the team they beat at the end of last season - their performances in the first six rounds of the campaign have been mixed.

Goals conceded have been a particular problem for the Spanish coach, with the tally standing at 12 heading into the recent international break.

The club's defensive woes were underlined when they conceded twice after taking a 2-0 lead against newly promoted Holstein Kiel a fortnight ago, with the Werkself's loss of focus against Kiel reminiscent of their 3-2 defeat to Leipzig at the end of August, when they surrendered a two-goal lead.

Leverkusen's defensive frailties have been particularly evident at the BayArena, where they have conceded a worrying eight of their twelve goals this term.

With last season's champions set to take on an opponent that has been prolific in front of goal and at the other end, observers could be in for another goal-fest on Saturday.

Of the teams in the top five, only Alonso's men have conceded more goals (12) than this weekend's third-placed visitors, whose nine are worse than the two teams between them - second-placed Leipzig (two) and Freiburg (seven) - and leaders Bayern (seven).

Dino Toppmoller's men have kept one clean sheet in six Bundesliga games - a 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach in the third round - and have gone four games without conceding in all competitions, a run bookended by 3-3 draws with Viktoria Pilsen and Vincent Kompany's men before the break.

If the Europa League point felt like two lost after Die Adler let a 3-1 lead slip away, the latter felt like a point gained after Omar Marmoush's injury-time equaliser saw SGE peg back the title contenders.

Frankfurt's goalscoring prowess has seen them find the net in every game since their 2-0 opening day defeat at Borussia Dortmund, and Toppmöller's side will be hoping to continue that run on Saturday.

With only Bayern (20) and Leverkusen (16) having scored more than the third-placed side (14), the BayArena is set to be an intriguing contest as the away side look to avoid a fourth successive defeat at the hands of Alonso's men.

Recent Performance

Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga form:WLWWDD

Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):WWWDWD

Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga form:LWWWWD

Eintracht Frankfurt form (all competitions):WWDWWD

Injuries and suspensions

Leverkusen

11 Martin Terrier

Frankfurt

4 Robin Koch

6 Oscar Højlund

Possible starting lineups

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Garcia, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Terrier, Adli; Boniface

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:

Trapp; Kristensen, Tuta, Koch, Theate; Knauff, Shkiri, Larsson, Nkounkou; Ekitike, Marmoush