Football Results

The two teams met in the quarter-finals of DFB-Pokal two seasons ago and now one of them will be semi-finalist for sure. That is success for any of two teams, and especially for Werder which struggles in the Bundesliga as it is locked in the survival struggle. Beyer Leverkusen stands much better, has 15 points more and occupies excellent second place in the table. Home team didn’t lose in three previous rounds but it drew last weekend, when Werder surprisingly won away. Bayer won their league match played also in Leverkusen by 1-0.

Bayer Leverkusen

Despite fact that it failed to triumph in previous league round Bayer players occupy excellent second place in the table and clearly they want to stay there and directly qualify for the Champions League. In the DFB-Pokal they perhaps want to win the title although at the end of road Bayern will probably wait for them, which defeated them in Leverkusen at the beginning of second part of season.

After the defeat Bayer had three-game unbeaten streak; they won Hoffenheim away and Mainz at home, while on Saturday they only drew in Freiburg. The result read at the end 0-0 and that was the first match this season in which Bayer failed to score a single goal. They were better team on the pitch despite that coach Herrlich made a surprised when he left L. Bender, Brandt and Vollandon on the bench. Now, we expect to see all three of them from the first minute.

Probable lineups Bayer Leverkusen: Leno – L. Bender, Tah, S. Bender, Wendell – Aranguiz, Kohr – Brandt, Bailey – Volland,  Alario

Werder Bremen

If we take into consideration only the Bundesliga Werder had five-game winless streak but last Saturday it won when no one hoped that his possible. They won Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen despite being in minus of one goal. Werder equalised 10 mintues before the end but when they stayed with one player more they use the situation to turn the result up-side down in the very finish of match. It is interesting that Werder won just one away match before game in Gelsenkirchen, which was at the same time their last victory, also won against strong opponent Borussia Dortmund.

It can be said that no one outplayed them for a long time despite several lost matches. They didn’t play badly in them, just like in those they drew. Victory over Schalke 04 has increased their self-confidence and it allowed them to move away from the drop zone although they are too low in the table to say they are safe. Newcomer, midfielder Rashica got chance in Gelsenkirchen from the first minute and Belfodil returned in the starting line-up. Bargfrede got injured and they also brought stopper S. Langkamp.

Probable lineups Werder Bremen: Pavlenka – Gebre Sellasie, Veljkovic, Moisander, Augustinsson – Delaney, Junuzovic, M. Eggestein, Gondorf – Belfodil, M. Kruse

Verdict:

Bayer plays well throughout this season, while Werder only occasionally shines. That is why the home team is explicit favourite to win this match. It is anyway more important for Werder to try to stay in the Bundesliga.

Pick:  Asian handicap -0.75 Bayer Leverkusen 1.72 - 72/100 @1XBet