Bayer Leverkusen will look to bounce
back from two defeats in a row when they
take on Augsburg on Saturday in the
Bundesliga.
Leverkusen have not won in four matches,
including a 3-1 loss to Barcelona in the
Champions League on Tuesday and a 1-0
defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Leverkusen’s main weakness this season
has been in front of goal, having only hit
the back of the net 28 times in 21 games,
which is worse than 12th-placed Cologne
and 13th-placed Mainz.
Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok is the club’s
top scorer in the Bundesliga with just six
goals, while Stefan Kiebling, Bayer’s main
forward, has scored only four goals in 15 games.
Bayer are sixth on the Bundesliga table and
have 31 points, but need a win to ensure they
are still in the European places at the end of the
weekend, with Hannover just behind on goal
difference.
Augsburg, Leverkusen’s visitors on Saturday,
are second-bottom with 18 points, including only
one win on the road this season.
A victory for Augsburg could take them above
the relegation spots if Hertha Berlin lose and
Kaiserslautern fail to win.
Hertha host league leaders Dortmund, while
Kaiserslautern are also at home where they will
face third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Dortmund lost to Hertha when the Berlin-based
club travelled west on September 10, but the
reigning champions have won five straight in the
Bundesliga heading into this weekend’s fixture.
Moenchengladbach, who have not lost in seven
games, could draw level at the top of the table if
they win and Dortmund lose, although that
hypothetical would open the door for Bayern
Munich who are just two points behind the top
team and take on bottom-placed Freiburg on
Saturday.
Schalke, the other club still within touching
distance of Dortmund, host Wolfsburg on
Sunday.
It is the first of two evenly-matched games on
Sunday, with ninth-placed Stuttgart travelling
north to take on Hannover, who are seventh.
In other matches this week, Hoffenheim and
Mainz are in action on Friday, while on
Saturday, Hamburg host Bremen and Cologne
will play Nurnberg.
Bundesliga review 02/17
