Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia M'gladbach
15:00
Leverkusen were impressive 3-1 winners at home to Hertha Berlin last weekend, only their second win in their last seven, and so they’ve moved back up to 8th as they look to rescue their season after a slow start. Monchengladbach are in even worse shape as their goalless draw at bottom of the league Darmstadt means they remain in 14th, with just one win in their last 12 and they continue to struggle for goals as they’ve netted just 15 in their 17 games.
However, they may well fancy their chances of finding the net against Leverkusen, as they’re without a clean sheet in six at home. They’ve won four of their nine home games despite already hosting four of the current top-five and we expect them to improve in the second half of the season, as they did last term when they were down in 8th after 15 games but ended up in 3rd. Indeed, the victory that set them on their way last season was a 5-0 thumping at home to Monchengladbach themselves.
Monchengladbach have managed just two points from their eight away games and have netted just one goal in their last six on the road. Leverkusen’s poor defensive record puts us off the win to nil, but they look more than a fair price simply to pick up the three points, given Monchengladbach’s struggles on their travels. Leverkusen have many of their key players returning from injury that hampered them in the first part of the season, with Bellarabi back to the starting line-up against Hertha for the first time since the second game of the season and so we expect them to build on that victory and record back-to-back wins.
