BayArena will see Leverkusen host one of Europe’s most powerful teams in recent years, Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, today at 21:00 CET.
Leverkusen is in a bad spot this season, both domestically and internationally. After taking over the club in crisis in December of the last season, Peter Bosz established a high-voltage system into place, creating chaos on the pitch where his team regularly came out on top.
The players themselves responded wonderfully to the new system, finishing the season at fourth, even qualifying for the Champions League.
Discovering the diamond
Kai Havertz profited the most out of the new system, as the German youngster scored 17 league goals, adding three assists in the process. Havertz is a gem Leverkusen are carefully nurturing, as the 20-year-old is marked as the future of German football and a leader of the new generation. Many – if not all – European giants will be fighting for his signature this summer which says all you need to know about the attacking midfielder able to play on the wing if needed.
However, the new season brought problems for Leverkusen and Bosz. Only four wins in 10 matches in Bundesliga combined with all three losses in the Champions League found the manager suddenly appearing on the hot seat, with every following match being the crucial one for Peter Bosz. The team is on a four-match winless streak in the domestic league.
Despite the bad results, the home performances are acceptable and they do give out a reason for optimism ahead of tomorrow’s clash, with Die Werkself losing only once at BayArena in the Bundesliga this season.
Efficiency struggles
The most shocking information regarding Leverkusen is that they scored just one goal in three Champions League matches so far, highlighting the efficiency issue. The solitary goalscorer? Not, it’s not Kevin Volland who scored five in the Bundesliga, it’s an own-goal scored by Lokomotiv Moscow’s Howedes who obviously got caught up in his return to Germany, but the Russians still took the 2-1 win.
On the other end, Simeone is struggling to put his new, more attacking system into place, reverting back to his old methods more and more as time goes on. This resulted in Atletico scoring 12 goals in just as many matches. Only five La Liga teams scored less – and four of them are in the relegation zone.
Despite the issues upfront, the defence is as solid as ever, with Oblak picking the ball from his net just seven times. They are holding out well despite Gimenez and Savic’s muscle injuries. The injury of Joao Felix, on the other hand, is hurting the team that lacked creation even with the Portuguese talent in the team.
Alvaro Morata is doing bits, scoring five times in the league, and once in Europe. Los Colchoneros are sitting at fourth, just a point behind the leading trio of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Real Sociedad.
While Atletico is in a good position to go through, Leverkusen basically already threw any chance of European success this season out of the window. This should result in Simeone’s men putting in all their efforts to winning three points, as they successfully did in 1-0 Madrid win against Leverkusen, while the hosts will be more focused on the upcoming Bundesliga challenges. Alvaro Morata is in solid form lately, and after drowning Leverkusen 15 days ago, don’t be surprised to see him score one or two.
Prediction: Leverkusen vs Atletico. The latter to win.
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