With the title race over and Champions League football guaranteed for next season, Bayer Leverkusen have nothing to play for in the remaining rounds. The same can't be said about Borussia Dortmund, who are one step away from saving one of their worst Bundesliga seasons.
Bayer Leverkusen conceded the title when they failed to beat Freiburg last week. Their position as the runners-up is also guaranteed, so Die Werkself can play for fun. The only notable reason for them to push harder than necessary in the last couple of games is that these will be Xabi Alonso's last two matches as Leverkusen's manager.
On the other end, Borussia Dortmund are just one point away from Champions League football, after a season where reaching Europe seemed like a mirage. BVB are the only team that boasts four wins in the last five rounds and their performance in attack has been phenomenal. Dortmund scored 16 goals in their last five Bundesliga games.
Playing Bayer Leverkusen in the penultimate round is hardly what any team would want, but a positive result here and a win over now-relegated Holstein Kiel in the final round could be enough to send Niko Kovac's team back to the Champions League.
How the bookies view it: Die Werkself are underdogs
Bookmakers realised the stakes for Borussia Dortmund and gave them the advantage ahead of this match. It is odd to see Leverkusen as the underdogs but the odds are quite close anyway. You can pick Bayer Leverkusen at 33/20, the draw at 29/10, or Borussia at 7/5.
Recent head to head: Home advantage is not as prevalent in this rivalry
Apart from the last few seasons, Bayer Leverkusen have always struggled against Borussia Dortmund. But in their Championship season last year, they couldn't beat them once. Xabi Alonso's side managed to win the reverse fixture in January, but that was a bad period for BVB and they are a much different side now. From a more long-term point of view, both sides won four of the last 10 H2Hs each.
Players to watch: Guirassy can break a club record on Sunday
Serhou Guirassy is just two goals away from breaking the club record for the most goals by a player in his debut season. And based on his recent performances, he is more than capable of scoring a couple of goals in the remaining rounds. The Guinean netted seven goals in his last four appearances for the club across all competitions. In the Bundesliga in particular, he has eight goal contributions in the last five rounds. And also scored in the reverse fixture against Leverkusen in January.
Probable line-up
Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky, Hincapie, Tapsoba, Tah, Grimaldo, Xhaka, Andrich, Frimpong, Wirtz, Schick, Adli
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Bensebaini, Anton, Sule, Svensson, Can, Gross, Ryerson, Adeyemi, Brandt, Guirassy
Anything else catch the eye?
Interestingly, Bayer Leverkusen have always had more success in the away H2Hs. Die Werkself have won only three of their last 15 games as hosts against Borussia Dortmund. But more importantly, almost all of the recent H2Hs have been action-packed and easy to bet on. Eight of the last 10 featured goals from both sides, and we expect to see more of the same on Sunday.
BVB will push forward for 90 minutes and we anticipate a positive outcome of some sort. There is a good possibility that we see a draw, especially after Leverkusen's questionable performances lately.
This German Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund will be played on and kick off at 14:30. Check below for our tipsters best Bayer Leverkusen vs Borussia Dortmund prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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