Bayer Leverkusen Look to Extend Unbeaten Run vs Stuttgart
Leverkusen vs Stuttgart Lines Favor Champions
Leverkusen Refuse to Lose
Once again, Bayer Leverkusen were minutes away from their first defeat of the season last weekend. Leverkusen pulled off another late comeback to draw 1-1 at Borussia Dortmund. Now, the champions will put their 45 game unbeaten streak on the line when they take on Stuttgart on Saturday. With Stuttgart fighting for a Champions League place, this match will mean a lot for both teams. We’ll dive into the Leverkusen vs Stuttgart lines as Bayer look to extend their record breaking streak.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Stuttgart
Date, time:
Location: BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany
Head-to-Head:
This fixture has been dominated by Bayer Leverkusen recently. Leverkusen are unbeaten in the last nine Bundesliga fixtures and last 11 overall. In February, Leverkusen came back from 2-1 down to defeat Stuttgart 3-2 in the DFB-Pokal Quarter-Final. The Leverkusen vs Stuttgart lines listed Bayer as -165 pregame favorites. The last two Bundesliga meetings have finished in 1-1 draws, though. Stuttgart last defeated Bayer Leverkusen in 2018.
Bayer Leverkusen Missing Xhaka on Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen’s mentality is unmatched. They simply never quit and have come back from losing positions to win or draw no fewer than 10 times this season. On Sunday, Bayer Leverkusen conceded an 81st minute goal at Borussia Dortmund, who were hungry to hand Leverkusen their first defeat of the campaign. Josip Stanisic ending up heading in a 97th minute corner as Leverkusen extended their unbeaten streak to 45 matches, in all competitions.
Florian Wirtz provided the assist and the attacking midfielder has been one of the best Bundesliga players this season. Now, Xabi Alonso’s men are just four games away from completing the first unbeaten Bundesliga season. The streak clearly means a lot to the players, who already clinched the Bundesliga title two weekends ago. Still, they’ve drawn their last two games, vs. Dortmund and West Ham, for the first time this season. Alonso also has next Thursday’s Europa League Semifinal clash at Roma to look forward to.
This match will be an interesting test for Leverkusen, given they’ll be without Granit Xhaka for the first time this season. Xhaka is suspended due to yellow card accumulation but he’s been superb in midfield for Leverkusen this season. No Bundesliga player has made more progressive passes than Xhaka in 2023-24. Expect a midfield duo of Robert Andrich and Exequiel Palacios without the former Arsenal man.
Three Points Paramount for Stuttgart in UCL Race
Werder Bremen ended Stuttgart’s 11 game Bundesliga unbeaten streak last Sunday. Marvin Ducksch scored both of Werder’s goals in the 2-1 victory. Deniz Undav scored a consolation goal for Stuttgart but the visitors couldn’t grab an equalizer. Serhou Guirassy, who’s scored 25 goals this season, didn’t score for the first time in seven matches. Now, third-placed Stuttgart head on the road once again to take on Bayer Leverkusen.
Stuttgart still haven’t drawn a single road match in the Bundesliga this season. They’re 9-6 away from home and have won five of their last six Bundesliga road games. Stuttgart have also kept clean sheets in four of their last six matches and have conceded the fourth-fewest goals in the Bundesliga this season. A win here would get them one massive step closer to Champions League football. Virtually no Bundesliga predictions had them making the top four this season, as they were in the relegation playoff spot in 2022-23.
With fourth and fifth place sides RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund playing this weekend, Stuttgart and RB Leipzig wins would put Stuttgart nine points ahead of Dortmund with three games to play. However, midfielder Angelo Stiller is suspended for this match. Meanwhile, defenders Josha Vagnoman and Dan-Axel Zagadou are injured.
Match Analysis & Odds
In pursuit of an invincible campaign, Bayer Leverkusen’s motivation is still high. The Leverkusen vs Stuttgart lines list the first time Bundesliga champions as -155 favorites to grab their 26th win in 31 league games. Bayer Leverkusen -0.5, -1 comes in at -125 odds. Leverkusen have beaten Stuttgart more than they’ve beaten any other opponent in their history.
Meanwhile, Stuttgart are +395 underdogs for this match and Stuttgart +0.5, +1 sits at +105 odds. A draw would be a satisfactory result for both teams here and one is priced at +345. It’d also mark the third straight Bundesliga draw between the two sides.
In their last five Bundesliga home games, Bayer Leverkusen have outscored their opponents 14-2. Leverkusen have scored at least twice in each of those matches and over three goals show -115 odds. With Stuttgart on a 12 game scoring streak heading into this match, we wouldn’t at all be surprised to see both teams on the scoresheet.
