Overview
Bayer Leverkusen of coach Kasper Hjulmand is firmly in the top 6, but if their form does not improve, the final stage of the season may become tense.
After 29 rounds in the Bundesliga, Die Werkself is in sixth place, 8 points ahead of seventh-placed Eintracht Frankfurt when the season has 7 matches left.
However, the 3-3 draw against bottom-ranked Heidenheim extended their winless streak to five in all competitions. What is worrying is that Leverkusen once led by 2 goals thanks to Malik Tillman and Patrik Schick but still dropped the victory.
This weekend's match takes place exactly one month after the last time they won - 1-0 against Hamburger SV. This is also their only victory in the Bundesliga since the 4-0 victory over St Pauli on Valentine's Day.
However, Leverkusen still has home advantage when they have only lost one of their last 8 matches and have not lost at BayArena since the 1-4 defeat to Stuttgart on January 10.
However, if they cannot win all 3 points, the BayArnea home team may face great pressure from Frankfurt or Freiburg in the top 6 race.
Meanwhile, Wolfsburg is facing the risk of relegation. After appointing Dieter Hecking on March 8, this team has its third coach this season.
Daniel Bauer, who had been attached to the club for many years, was sacked after a streak of 8 winless matches, including six defeats and a 1-8 defeat to Bayern Munich.
Wolfsburg expects Hecking's experience - who used to coach the club from 2012-2016 - to help the team stay in the league. However, after a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim, they lost 0-1 to Werder Bremen.
Currently Die Wolfe is ranked 17th with 21 points, 3 points behind St Pauli's play-off position and 5 points behind FC Koln.
In the context of the imminent risk of relegation, Wolfsburg hopes to take advantage of Leverkusen's unstable form. However, with 4 losses in the last 6 away matches, a draw is already a positive result.
Personnel situation
Leverkusen will be missing some options on both wings in this weekend's match, as both right-backs Arthur and Lucas Vazquez are injured, along with left-back Eliesse Ben Seghir.
Difficulties are increasing when center-back Jarell Quansah suffered a thigh injury in the match against Heidenheim, while Loic Bade is also uncertain to play due to hamstring problems. Therefore, Tim Oermann is likely to pair with Robert Andrich and Edmond Tapsoba in defense, with Montrell Culbreath and Alejandro Grimaldo guarding the wings.
In midfield, Aleix Garcia is suspended due to receiving enough yellow cards, and Martin Terrier is hamstring injured, so Exequiel Palacios and Ezequiel Fernandez are expected to start.
On the other side, Wolfsburg is in a defensive crisis due to the absence of Cleiton Santos and Jenson Seelt due to injuries, along with Moritz Jenz being suspended.
The two wings were also damaged when Kilian Fischer and Rogerio could not play, forcing Sael Kumbedi and Joakim Maehle to take on the two wings in the three-man defense including Jeanuel Belocian, Denis Vavro and Konstantinos Koulierakis.
In attack, Bence Dardai is out for the rest of the season due to injury, Kevin Paredes leaves open the possibility of playing, and Lovro Majer is suspended.
In that context, Hecking can use Christian Eriksen and Vini Souza in midfield, above are Jesper Lindstrom and Mohamed Amoura to support striker Jonas Wind.
Expected lineup:
Bayer Leverkusen: Flekken, Oermann, Andrich, Tapsoba, Culbreath, Palacios, Fernandez, Grimaldo, Maza, Poku, Schick.
Grabara, Belocian, Vavro, Koulierakis, Kumbedi, Eriksen, Souza, Maehle, Lindstrom, Amoura, Wind.
The match between Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg takes place at 8:30 PM on April 4 (Vietnam time).
