Freiburg vs Bayer Leverkusen

Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen are set to square off at Europa-Park Stadion in an intriguing Bundesliga match-up.

What started as a fairytale turned into a nightmare as Freiburg squandered a narrow first-leg lead in their Europa League last-16 tie against West Ham, suffering an embarrassing 5-0 defeat in London a few days ago. There’s no time to dwell on the past, as Christian Streich’s men have a catch-up to play in the Bundesliga after slipping seven points adrift of the top seven amid a rotten five-game patch (W1, D2, L2). Europa-Park Stadion is no longer Freiburg’s safe haven, with the hosts only winning once in their last five home league outings (D3, L1). That run includes a respectable 2-2 draw against perennial champions Bayern Munich, and taking another massive scalp is not beyond them. Keeping Leverkusen winless in their last two home H2Hs (W1, D1) can reinforce Freiburg’s bid to upset the apple cart.

However, everything seems to be going Bayer Leverkusen’s way these days. Not even a 2-0 deficit heading into the last 20 minutes of their Europa League last-16 second-leg clash against Qarabag was enough to knock Die Werkself off their perch. Xabi Alonso’s side pulled off an incredible comeback to beat the Azerbaijani outfit 3-2 and reach the quarter-finals while extending their sensational unbeaten run in all competitions to 37 games. Of those 37 matches, 25 have come in the Bundesliga, helping the visitors establish a ten-point cushion at the table’s summit ahead of this round. Hitting the round won’t be of any particular concern to Leverkusen as they make this journey on the back of five consecutive away league victories, looking to set a new club record.