Struggling Leverkusen face high flying Bremen
October 25, 2018
Pre-season, a prediction that one of Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen would be third and the other three points from the bottom would've seemed about right. That's the case, ahead of their clash at their Weser Stadium on Sunday evening, but not as most would've guessed.
Leverkusen's league season has lurched from disaster (losing their first three), through the brief recovery (winning the next two), to the chronically underwhelming (draws against Freiburg and Hannover) and the ridiculous (throwing away a two-goal, half-time lead against Dortmund).
Read more: How long can Herrlich hold on?
Heiko Herrlich's job appears to be hanging by the finest of threads, perhaps even more so after unexpected defeat away in Switzerland in the Europa League midweek. Lars Bender recently revealed that the players are struggling with the mental side of the game.
"We've got too much on our minds," said the Werkself skipper after his team needed a late equalizer to rescue a point against fellow strugglers Hannover last weekend. "We let little things unsettle us and bring us out of our structure. We have to work on that. We need more confidence."
By contrast, Bremen have enjoyed their best start for 13 years, when they went on to finish second during the club's golden period in the mid 2000s when they also won the title.
Read more: Redemption for classy Klaasen as Bremen impress
While the pinnacle seems beyond them, Bremen coach Florian Kohfeldt and his players have consistently welcomed talk of a European challenge.
"We have always emphasized that we want to go to Europe," said in-form attacking midfielder Maximilian Eggestein after his brace was enough to beat Schalke last weekend. "We do not have to make ourselves smaller than we are."
Kohfledt's impact since taking over a year ago has been dramatic, with the 36-year-old winning an impressive 49 per cent of his matches. Eggestein, Davy Klaasen and Max Kruse have 8 league goals and 4 assists between them and form a potent attacking trio while former Dortmund playmaker Nuri Sahin, still only 30, has started to show glimpses of the form that saw him once regarded as one of Europe's best midfielders.
A home win on Sunday would put 12 points between Bremen and Leverkusen, and it might just spell the end for Herrlich.
Elsewhere on matchday 9
- After a stunning 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in midweek, Dortmund have a slightly more prosaic task on Saturday, when they host Hertha Berlin. The capital city club were frustrated by Freiburg last time out but have enjoyed a strong start to the campaign, including a famous Friday night win over Bayern Munich. That was the champion's first loss of the season. Could lightening strike twice against unbeaten Dortmund?
- Two wins on the bounce without conceding means things are looking a bit brighter for Bayern, though they were still a little sluggish in victory over AEK Athens. Niko Kovac's men travel to Mainz, the division's lowest scorers with four goals. In fact there have been just two goals in Mainz's last four matches. Anyone for a 4-4?
- Another team struggling for goals is Schalke. The Royal Blues have just five in the league, drew another blank in Istanbul on Wednesday and haven't hit the net in 227 minutes. They travel to a Leipzig side brimming with confidence after their win against Celtic midweek.
Matchday 9 fixtures (All times CEST)
Freiburg vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach (Friday 20:30)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Hertha Berlin (Saturday 15:30)
Fortuna Düsseldorf vs. Wolfsburg
Hannover vs. Augsburg
Hoffenheim vs. Stuttgart
Mainz vs. Bayern Munich
Nuremberg vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (Sunday 13:30)
RB Leipzig vs. Schalke (Sunday 15:30)
Werder Bremen vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Sunday 18:00)