Bayer Leverkusen vs Qarabag

Relentless Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to reach the Europa League quarter-finals when they meet Qarabag at the BayArena in the return leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

Bayer Leverkusen seemed on the verge of collapse in the first leg before pulling off a late comeback to turn a 2-0 deficit into a credible 2-2 draw in Azerbaijan. Xabi Alonso’s high-flying side continued to rain terror from above in the Bundesliga last weekend, seizing an early numerical advantage to beat Wolfsburg 2-0 at home and maintain their unbeaten competitive record this season. The BayArena forms the perfect backdrop for Leverkusen’s bid to go one better than last term and reach the Europa League final, as they won all three group-stage fixtures here this campaign, including a 5-1 demolition of Qarabag. Moreover, ‘Die Werkself’ have won their last four home outings in all competitions, netting multiple goals on each occasion.

Meanwhile, Qarabag’s inability to hold onto a two-goal cushion in the first leg might have ended their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals of a major European competition for the first time in the club’s history. While a 3-1 domestic win against Zira at the weekend stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to five games (W4, D1), beating Leverkusen in Germany should prove a tall order, not least because of their winless all-time record against German teams in continental action (D2, L7). Moreover, they’ve lost all four previous trips to Germany to take on Bundesliga sides by a combined score of 13-3. But as Europa League entertainers, Gurban Gurbanov’s men could still throw a spectacle. They’re the only side alongside Sparta Prague to have scored and conceded 15+ goals in this season’s Europa League.