Watch here: Leverkusen vs Elversberg Live Streaming
Coach Xabi Alonso and his team will continue their campaign to defend the German Cup with a match against a lower-ranked opponent.
Time & Venue:
- 17:00, October 29, 2024
- BayArena Stadium
Form: This season, reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen began their German Cup campaign with a narrow victory over Carl Zeiss Jena. Despite predictions of a dominant win, Xabi Alonso’s team secured only a 1-0 victory thanks to Jonas Hofmann’s 52nd-minute goal.
Last weekend, Leverkusen drew 2-2 against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga, despite leading twice. After the match, Alonso criticized Leverkusen’s defense, highlighting that they have kept only three clean sheets in 13 matches across all competitions this season.
Despite maintaining an unbeaten record, Leverkusen have drawn 4 out of their last 6 matches, scoring 9 goals and conceding 7. At home, Alonso’s team have a decent record, winning 3 out of their last 4 matches.
Meanwhile, Elversberg enters this match with a morale boost after thrashing Hamburger SV 4-2 over the weekend. Currently, coach Horst Steffen’s team is in 7th place in the Bundesliga 2 standings, but the gap to the top team is only 4 points.
Elversberg is in excellent form with a 4-match unbeaten streak, including 3 wins, scoring 10 goals and conceding only 3. Notably, they have not lost in their last 4 away matches.
In the only historical encounter between the two teams, Elversberg surprisingly won 4-3.
Lineup:
Leverkusen: Alonso will be without Amine Adli, who broke his leg in last week’s Champions League clash with Brest, which is the only significant injury for the home team. It is expected that several players who have not played much in the Bundesliga, such as Jonas Hofmann, Francis Onyeka, or Patrik Schick, will be in the starting lineup.
Elversberg: Elversberg faces more personnel issues, with center-back duo Frederik Jakel and Florian Le Joncour expected to return from injury in November. Similarly, midfielders Patryk Dragon and Semih Sahin are also likely to be sidelined due to fitness issues.
Projected Lineups:
Bayer Leverkusen: Kovar; Arthur, Tah, Tapsoba; Tella, Garcia, Andrich, Belocian; Hofmann, Onyeka; Schick
Elversberg: Kristof; Baum, Pinckert, Rohr, Neubauer; Fellhauer, Sickinger, Damar; Sicker; Schnellbacher, Petkov
Statistics:
- This is only the second meeting between the two clubs in all competitions.
- Elversberg won the previous encounter.
- Leverkusen has dropped points from a winning position in 4 out of their last 6 matches.
Goal & Conceding Rates:
Prediction: While Leverkusen might concede due to defensive issues, Elversberg has an impressive scoring record. However, scoring might be all the visitors can achieve.
Given the significant class difference—even if Alonso does not field key players—the chances of Elversberg repeating the result from their 2022 match seem slim. Instead, this could be an opportunity for Leverkusen to vent their frustrations after recent disappointing results.
Predicted Score (according to Sportsmole): Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 Elversberg