Bayer Leverkusen vs Borussia Dortmund 09/02/20

9 February 2020

The two sides that have endured mixed fortunes in their respective DFB Pokal encounters will lock horns at the BayArena this weekend, as Bayer Leverkusen take on Borussia Dortmund. While Leverkusen eased past Stuttgart, Dortmund succumbed 3-2 to Werder Bremen.

A 2-1 away defeat to Hoffenheim last weekend now means that none of Leverkusen’s last eight league fixtures has ended in a stalemate (W5, L3), with 62.5% of those results (win/loss) yielding a single-goal margin. The hosts have also struggled for league home form lately (W2, D1, L2), with four of those matches ending separating the sides by under 1.5 goals. It will be a daunting prospect for ‘Die Werkself’ to establish a much-needed consistency now, as they’ve won just once in their previous 12 top-flight H2Hs held here (W1, D6, L5). Shipping the opening goal could be fatal for Peter Bosz’s side, as they’ve returned one point from three BL home games in which they’ve allowed the opener.

Meanwhile, the visitors have enjoyed a stellar start to the new calendar year, winning all three of their BL outings since the turn of 2020 to maintain a three-point deficit to league-toppers Bayern Munich. Notably, each of those successes has seen the BVB score precisely five goals per match, with 73.33% (11) of those 15 goals coming in the second half. But, ‘Die Borrusen’ have endured mixed fortunes in their last five BL road trips (W3, L2), with all of those fixtures featuring over 2.5 goals. Even if they concede the opening goal as they’ve done in four of ten BL away matches (40%), it may not be the last, as Lucien Favre’s men have managed to turn two of those four games around (W2, L2).