Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayer Leverkusen
German Bundesliga, KO: 19:30 Aug 23, 2024, Borussia-Park
Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen will play each other in the first match of the new Bundesliga table on Friday night as the visitors begin their title defence away from home.
Borussia Monchengladbach will be looking to become the first team to beat Bayer Leverkusen in a domestic fixture in over a year on Friday after Xabi Alonso's men went the entire 2023/24 season unbeaten on their way to a league and cup double.
Repeating last season's achievements is a near-impossible task for Leverkusen but a strong start on Friday would send a message that they are at least in a position to defend their title.
How the bookies view it: Leverkusen go in as favourites
Given they were arguably the best team in Europe last season, it is no surprise that Bayer Leverkusen go into their first match of the new season as favourites. Betfred have priced a Bayer Leverkusen win at 8/15 while a victory for Borussia Monchengladbach has been priced at 4/1. The draw, which would be a decent point for the hosts, has been priced at 3/1.
Recent head-to-head: Advantage Leverkusen
While no team in Germany got the better of Bayer Leverkusen last season, their good form against Borussia Monchengladbach stretches beyond 2023/24. They are unbeaten in their last nine matches against Monchengladbach with the hosts' last win over Leverkusen coming back in 2019.
One source of hope for Monchengladbach can be found via the fact they managed to draw 0-0 with Xabi Alonso's men at the Bay Arena last season.
Players to watch: Can last season's heroes come up trumps again?
Last season, several heroes were unearthed in the Bayer Leverkusen ranks but dealing with performance expectations this season is an entirely new kettle of fish.
Florian Wirtz was the key playmaker in the Leverkusen team last season with everything positive going through the 21-year-old. Wirtz finished last season with 18 goals and 19 assists across all competitions and beating those tallies this season will be a tall order. He came off the bench in the Super Cup last weekend and will be ready to start this one.
Victor Boniface was another man who stood up for the club last season. The Nigerian striker was Leverkusen's top scorer with 21 goals and opened his account for the new campaign in the Super Cup. There is a sense that Boniface can become even better this season.
Predicted line-ups
Yvandro Borges Sanches and Jan Olschowsky are both expected to be missing for this one for Borussia Monchengladbach due to knee injuries. The only absentee for Bayer Leverkusen will be Exequiel Palacios as he continues to recover from knee surgery.
Borussia Monchengladbach: Omlin – Scally, Itakura, Elvedi, Netz – Weigl, Reitz – Honorat, Stoger, Plea – Kleindienst
Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky- Frimpong, Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie, Grimaldo – Xhaka, Andrich – Wirtz, Adli, Boniface
Anything else catch the eye?
This Bayer Leverkusen side are famed for three things – never losing, scoring late goals and being involved in high-scoring matches. Their recent Super Cup clash with Stuttgart illustrated all three points perfectly which indicates we could have more of the same this season. Over 3.5 goals has been priced at 6/5 with Betfred.
This German Bundesliga match between Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen will be played on Aug 23, 2024 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
