Hannover 96 vs Bayer Leverkusen Predictions

To say that Hannover are struggling at present would be something of an understatement. Sunday’s hosts don’t just come into this match off the back of three defeats, but they’ve been battered on all three occasions. They lost by three goals to nil against both Hoffenheim and Frankfurt, while Stuttgart hit them for five last time out. Improvement is needed if Die Roten are to regain the winning thread and thus give themselves any chance of staying up.

In truth, as things stands, it’s not looking good for Hannover, who’re currently seven points from safety. They are five points behind Stuttgart, who currently occupy the relegation play-off spot, though even bridging that gap looks unlikely on recent form.

Not only have Hannover lost each of their last three, but their performances have been little short of abysmal. Last time out, they managed just three shots at goal, only one of which found its way on target, while they mustered a dismal 0.22 expected goals for. The fact that they scored a goal was massively fortunate. Aside from offering next to nothing offensively, Hannover also conceded an awful lot at the back, as they allowed Stuttgart, who clocked 1.78 expected goals for, eight shots on target. Prior to that, Sunday’s hosts, who’ve conceded a dismal average of 2.34 expected goals at home this season, shipped 1.49 and 2.99 expected goals against Frankfurt and Hoffenheim respectively. Considering that Leverkusen are no slouches going forward, the numbers above make it very easy to fear for Hannover ahead of Sunday’s clash.

While Hannover have struggled immensely at the back of late, Leverkusen have been thriving offensively. Sunday’s visitors have scored at least twice in each of their last six matches, while they’ve scored at least thrice in three of those six. During that time, they’ve posted some very encouraging expected-goals for numbers of 2.05, 1.8, 3.65 and 3.35.

Fortunately for the host, Leverkusen, as good as they’ve been offensively, have not been tough to get at on their travels, so Hannover are not without a chance going forward on Sunday afternoon. Peter Bosz’s men come into this match having conceded at least once in seven of their last eight travelling matches, while they’ve surrendered a rather chunky average of 1.68 expected goals on the road this season. Such numbers don’t exactly scream defensive solidity.

To be quite honest, Leverkusen have lots more about them offensively than Hannover do, so Sunday’s visitors ought to be capable of overpowering their hosts, though if their overall away-day efforts this season are anything to go by, then they’re unlikely to make it easy for themselves offensively. At the prices, ‘Leverkusen to Win & BTTS’ is worth a dabble. If we look at both their attacking and defensive efforts on the road, then backing the visitors to outscore their hosts without keeping a clean sheet looks to be best option.