Bayer Leverkusen travel to VfB Stuttgart in a German Bundesliga fixture on Sunday, looking to bounce back following their elimination from the UEFA Champions League in midweek.
Stuttgart head into this clash winless in their last four Bundesliga matches, suffering two defeats and playing out as many draws in that run. Sebastian Honess’ men have also been poor at home, suffering four defeats in their last five matches across all competitions at the MHPArena.
Defending appears to be a major problem for Stuttgart, who have thrown away the lead in their last four Bundesliga matches, including the 2-2 draw last time out at Holstein Kiel. These defensive issues have seen their last two league matches produce over 3.5 goals.
Bayer Leverkusen are looking to bounce back after a 2-0 Champions League loss to Bayern Munich, which sealed a 5-0 aggregate defeat and their exit from the competition. All of this followed a 2-0 home defeat to Werder Bremen in their previous Bundesliga fixture.
Things are much better for Leverkusen on their travels though, the champions are unbeaten away from home in the Bundesliga this season. They eased to a 4-1 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt in their previous league outing on the road.
With five wins in their last seven away games and 15 goals scored in that run, Xabi Alonso’s men have the firepower to respond. However, having conceded 10 goals in seven of their last ten away league matches, they must stay disciplined at the back to reclaim the momentum.
How the bookies view it: Bookies backing Leverkusen
The bookies have installed Bayer Leverkusen as overwhelming favourites with BoyleSports offering 23/20 for an away win. A victory for Stuttgart is valued at 9/5 while a draw is set at 12/5.
Head to head: Upper hand for Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen have a 42-23 advantage with 24 draws from 89 previous matches against Stuttgart. However, five of the last six meetings have ended in draws, including a rare 0-0 scoreline in the reverse fixture.
Players to watch: Schick, deadly on the road
Patrik Schick is Leverkusen’s leading scorer with 16 Bundesliga goals and will be the one to watch. The striker has found the net in seven of the last eight Bundesliga away matches and is priced at 13/8 by BoyleSports to get on the score sheet.
Meanwhile, Stuttgart’s Ermedin Demirovic has nine league goals to his name and was also on target last time out at Holstein. He could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 2/1 with BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
Defenders Julian Chabot, Luca Jaquez, Anrie Chase and Dan-Axel Zagadou are all injured for Stuttgart while Leonidas Stergiou is suspended. However, Demirovic is in line to start in attack alongside Deniz Undav after scoring off the bench last time out.
Bayer Leverkusen will be without the injured Florian Wirtz, Jeanuel Belocian, Martin Terrier and Mario Hermoso while Nathan Tella remains a doubt after suffering a knock. However, Schick and Victor Boniface could start in attack.
VfB Stuttgart: Nubel, Vagnoman, Al Dakhil, Chabot, Mittelstadt, Keitel, Stiller, Millot, Leweling, Undav, Demirovic
Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky, Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie, Frimpong, Xhaka, Palacios, Grimaldo, Buendia, Boniface, Schick
Anything else catch the eye?
Three of the last four meetings between Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen have produced over 3.5 goals, which is priced at 8/5 with BoyleSports. Both teams have scored in the second half in three of their last four meetings and a repeat is priced at 17/10 with BoyleSports.
With both teams expected to score in the second half, it could be tipped to produce the most goals at 20/21 with BoyleSports.
This German Bundesliga match between VfB Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen will be played on and kick off at 18:30. Check below for our tipsters best VfB Stuttgart vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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