Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid 07/11/19

7 November 2019

Bayer Leverkusen will be desperate to unlock their UEFA Champions League (CL) point tally when they take on Atletico Madrid at the BayArena.

Pointless after the opening three CL fixtures, the hosts are sitting bottom of Group D, having scored just one goal so far. Lapses of concentration in the final stages have seen Leverkusen concede precisely one goal beyond the 75th minute in both of their previous CL outings. Another failure here will end their hopes of clinching a top-two finish, and ‘Die Werkself’ have a decent European home record recently to rely on here (W4, D7, L2). However, the Bundesliga giants have picked up just one triumph in their last seven CL home matches (D4, L2), although they’ve suffered only one defeat in their previous five home encounters against the Spanish visitors (W2, D2).

Meanwhile, after a 2-2 home draw with Juventus in the group opener, the visitors have secured back-to-back CL wins without conceding a single goal. Interestingly, all three of Atletico’s CL fixtures have seen the same 0-0 scoreline at halftime, with Los Colchoneros scoring three of their five second-half goals beyond the 70th minute. Diego Simeone’s men have been impressive in Europe over the past few years, winning 16 of their last 25 European matches (D6, L3). But, the La Liga heavyweights have succumbed in four of their previous five trips to Germany, with a 4-2 triumph over Leverkusen in 2017 being the only exception.