Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim will be battling for the third spot in the Bundesliga rankings when they go toe-to-toe in a crucial and interesting fixture at BayArena on Wednesday night with kickoff at 22:30.
With both sides separated by just one point and one place in the top-four, this match has all the makings of an absorbing contest.
Both Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim have made impressive campaigns this season with Leverkusen recording eight wins, three draws and four defeats in their 15 league matches to collect 27 points which have them occupying the third spot just four points behind Borussia Dortmund in the second, while Hoffenheim have recorded eight wins, two draws and five defeats to collect 26 points that have them occupying the fourth spot just a point behind their Wednesday hosts.
Both sides head into the match in good league forms with the hosts losing just one of their last five in the Bundesliga, claiming three wins and a draw in the run, while Hoffenheim have also just lost one of their last five league matches and head into the clash on the back of a four match winning streak.
Leverkusen though head into the match on the back of back-to-back defeats across all competitions as they failed to return to winnings as they fell to a humbling 5-2 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt last Sunday and this was following a slender 1-0 defeat at the hands of Ferencvarosi TC in their Europa League group finale which saw their four-match winning streak come to an end.
Leverkusen therefore will looking to return to winning ways in this one as they aim at widening the gap between them and their Wednesday opponents while also keeping pressure on Dortmund in the process.
Hoffenheim on the other hand will be looking to keep their momentum going as they aim at overtaking Leverkusen to the third spot.
Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim head to head
Both sides have met in 27 encounters since 2003 with Leverkusen claiming 15 victories while Hoffenheim have claimed seven victories and there have been five draws.
- Hoffenheim 0-0 Leverkusen 12/02/21
- Leverkusen 4-1 Hoffenheim 13/12/20
- Hoffenheim 2-1 Leverkusen 01/02/20
- Leverkusen 0-0 Hoffenheim 31/08/19
- Hoffenheim 4-1 Leverkusen 29/03/19
Home
- Frankfurt 5-2 Leverkusen
- Ferencvarosi 1-0 Leverkusen
- Leverkusen 7-1 Greuther Furth
- Leipzig 1-3 Leverkusen
- Leverkusen 3-2 Celtic
Away
- Freiburg 1-2 Hoffenheim
- Hoffenheim 3-2 Frankfurt
- Greuther Furth 3-6 Hoffenheim
- Hoffenheim 2-0 Leipzig
- Bochum 2-0 Hoffenheim
Bayer Leverkusen team news
The hosts will be without the services of Julian Baumgartlinger and Mitchel Bakker due to injuries.
Hoffenheim team news
Hoffenheim will be without several players including Marco John, Ermin Bicakcic, Robert Skov, Jacob Brunn Larsen and Dennis Geiger due to injuries, while Florian Grillitsch will miss out due to illness.
Prediction and odds
- Draw
- Away win
- Both sides to score
