Bayer Leverkusen vs Freiburg 02/03/19

02 March 2019

Obliged to pick up all three points Bayer Leverkusen welcome Freiburg to the BayArena looking to secure their third successive Bundesliga home win.

Last week’s 3-2 away defeat to Borussia Dortmund disrupted Leverkusen’s four-game Bundesliga winning run, but the hosts intend to return to winning ways immediately. Sitting six points beyond fourth-placed RB Leipzig, the Company XI are still very much in the race for the Champions League promotion. Given the situation, they are more than happy to host Freiburg, whom they’ve outplayed four times in their previous five H2H meetings at this venue (W4, D1). After an unexpectedly slow start to the season, Peter Bosz’s men have drastically improved their home performances, picking up six wins in their last nine home games across all competitions (W6, D2, L1). Also, Bosz seems to have managed to fix Bayer’s defensive issues, as they’ve gone from conceding 13 goals in five BL home clashes to allowing just three in their last six.

The visitors, on the other hand, don’t have much to hope for when it comes to their European ambitions, but an 11-point gap on 16th-placed Stuttgart means they don’t have to worry about preserving their top-flight status. Arriving at the BayArena without any pressure, the Reds hope to extend a four-game BL unbeaten run (W1, D3) and also post their second consecutive league triumph for the second time this campaign. However, Freiburg’s away form suggests it will be a daunting prospect, given that they’ve ensured three points just once on their previous nine BL road trips (W1, D4, L4). Three of five road encounters between Christian Streich’s men and Bundesliga top-seven sides produced over 2.5 goals, with both teams hitting the back of the net on three occasions in the process.