Overview
Bayer Leverkusen finally claimed their first win after three draws and losses, beating Heidenheim 5-2. This was a much-needed victory for coach Xabi Alonso's team as they aim to improve their performance in the Champions League.
The BayArena team had a great start in this year's Champions League with two consecutive wins against Feyenoord and AC Milan. However, they were held to a draw by Brest and lost to Liverpool in their most recent match.
RB Salzburg are rated lower in every aspect and will be a suitable opponent for Leverkusen to think about the goal of 3 points. In the context of Victor Boniface suddenly losing form and failing to score in 5 consecutive matches, Leverkusen will have to put their trust in Patrik Schick in attack.
The Czech Republic striker just scored a hat-trick against Heidenheim, bringing his total number of goals this season to 7 (in all competitions). Besides, Florian Wirtz is still Leverkusen's number 1 star with 7 goals, 3 assists since the beginning of the season.
On the other side of the front line, RB Salzburg, having not yet recovered from the defeat against Blau-Weiss Linz, continued to lose to LASK in the latest round of the Austrian national championship. The defending champion is facing many difficulties as it has not known victory in 4 matches and is ranked 5th on the rankings.
They are 14 points behind leaders Sturm Graz. In the Champions League, RB Salzburg also lost 3/4 of their first matches and ranked 30/36.
This will be the first time in history that Bayer Leverkusen and RB Salzburg have met in an official match.
They have previously met in two pre-season friendlies, with Leverkusen winning 4-0 in July 2011 and drawing 1-1 in July 2015.
Human resources situation
Victor Boniface will be absent for Bayer Leverkusen, along with Jonas Hofmann, Martin Terrier, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli and Nordi Mukiele.
On the other side of the front line, RB Salzburg will welcome goalkeeper Alexander Schlager back to the squad after his suspension ends.
Expected lineup:
Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky, Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie, Tella, Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo, Garcia, Wirtz, Schick.
RB Salzburg: Schlager, Dedic, Baidoo, Piatkowski, Terzic, Clark, Diambou, Gourna Douath, Nene, Konate, Gloukh.
The match between Bayer Leverkusen and Salzburg takes place at 3:00 a.m. on November 27 (Vietnam time).
