VfB Stuttgart vs. Bayer Leverkusen preview: Showdown for Champions League qualification

Bayer Leverkusen

Kasper Hjulmand’s side are currently in better form than their Saturday hosts. The unfortunate 2-1 defeat at home against Augsburg is the only game they failed to win from the last five matchdays.

They have scored half a dozen goals against Wolfsburg at the start of this streak, while their recent performance was even more impressive. Leverkusen ended RB Leipzig’s winning run with a deserved 4-1 victory.

Patrik Schick stole the headlines with a hat-trick against his club. The Augsburg result is the only defeat Hjulmand’s men have faced in their last ten games. Before they finish the season at home against HSV, Leverkusen could boost their Champions League hopes with a big win at MHP Arena.

Team News

There are plans to have Lucas Vazquez back in the matchday squad after his long-term injury, but Hjulmand will most likely keep the same starting XI from one of their best displays of the season. Martin Terrier is the only absentee from the squad list due to an injury.

Head-to-Head

Leverkusen had been unbeaten in their last 15 games against Stuttgart before the sides met when the Bundesliga resumed from the winter break in January. However, Stuttgart produced a brutal performance that night as they scored four unanswered goals in the first-half.

The Swabians are now hoping for a first home win in 16 years in this fixture. There is also another spell they would want to break as Stuttgart last beat Leverkusen home and away in the same season back when they lifted the Meisterschale in the 1990/91 campaign.

Predicted Lineups

Stuttgart: Nübel; Vagnoman, Chabot, Hendriks, Mittelstädt; Chema, Stiller; Leweling, El Khannouss, Führich; Undav ©

Leverkusen: Flekken; Quansah, Andrich ©, Tapsoba; Culbreath, Aleix Garcia, Palacios, Grimaldo; Maza, Tella; Schick