Bayer Leverkusen vs Wolfsburg Predictions

Bayer Leverkusen have had a poor start to the 18/19 campaign. A narrow victory over fifth tier Pforzheim in the DFB Pokal first round – a penalty was all that seperated the Bundesliga side from them in that 1-0 win – and a 2-0 defeat at Rhein neighbours Borussia Monchengladbach in the season opener leaves Heiko Herrlich with some thinking to do. Star man Leon Bailey is expected to start once again on Saturday, but Leverkusen could well revert to the 4-2-3-1 formation that served them so well last season, with either Lucas Alario or Kevin Volland, who missed a sitter in their opener, dropping to the bench. Summer signing Mitchell Weiser is also in line to make his full Bundesliga debut for the club at right-back after Benjamin Henrichs completed a move to Monaco in the week.

Coming into the 18/19 season, we were expecting more of the same from fallen giants Wolfsburg, but we’ll hold our hands up and say they’re looking much more promising this time around. Wolfsburg showed grit and determination, something that has been rare for them over the past two years, in their 2-1 win over runners up Schalke 04 on Sunday – perhaps we misjudged them. Striker Daniel Ginczek has played himself right into contention for a starting XI spot after scoring the winner off the bench last weekend, but that will be a tough call for manager Bruno Labbadia with summer signing Wout Weghorst also putting in a tireless debut shift. Captain Josuha Guilavogui is, unfortunately, set for a lengthy spell sidelined after suffering a knee injury in the same game.

So how does this one look in terms of betting? Well, though many associate Bayer Leverkusen with high scoring, high tempo football, the North Rhine-Westphalia based side are yet to truly get back at their best. Inconsistency and mistakes plagued last season’s eventual 5th place finish and their home form isn’t as good as you’d think – Leverkusen won just 8 of their 17 home matches last season (W8 D5 L4). Contrastingly, though Wolfsburg ended up with a poor 16th place finish last term, for a team that ended near the bottom of the table, their away form was consistent when it came to facing tough opposition – Wolfsburg won or drew in 10 of their 17 away matches last season (W3 D7 L7), which includes draws away to four of the eventual top five (2-2 vs Bayern, 1-1 vs Schalke, 0-0 vs Dortmund and 2-2 vs Leverkusen). The Wolves like a challenge.

Given that Wolfsburg look a changed side and have a decent head-to-head record at Leverkusen in the past few years, losing just one of their last four trips (W1 D2 L1) to the BayArena, there looks to be some value in backing them Double Chance (to win or draw) on Saturday. Wolfsburg head into this match unbeaten in five competitive outings (W5), not to mention losing just once in pre-season (away to Olympique Lyon), and morale already looks a lot higher. Coach Labbadia may be starting to get things right after six months in charge at the club (W6 D3 L6 in the Bundesliga) and the future could be promising for Wolfsburg once again. Expect the visitors to give the Leverkusen attack a tough time now that star center back John Anthony Brooks is back orchestrating the defense. Our prediction: a 1-1 draw.