Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen Title Charge is Back On

Bayer Leverkusen vs SC Freiburg

Bundesliga table leaders Bayern Munich cannot afford to be complacent since defending champions Bayer Leverkusen are firmly back in the title mix. Bayer Leverkusen are on a positive run of Bundesliga 2024 results, and it helps that Die Bayern recently suffered an upset loss against Mainz. As a result, Xabi Alonso’s side only trails by four points, and they can inch closer to the top berth with a victory against SC Freiburg this Saturday evening.

Bayer Leverkusen would be foolish to take on SC Freiburg lightly, as the Black Forest is also on an unbeaten run. With two wins in their last three outings, Julian Schuster’s side rose to fifth in the German top-flight standings with 24 points, and they can enter the Top 4 if they beat their hosts.

Learn more about these two teams via today’s SBOTOP match preview.

 

Talking Points

Boniface’s return gives Bayer Laverkusen a huge boost

Victor Boniface was spotted in training with Bayer Leverkusen ahead of their match against SC Freiburg, and his impending return will give Die Werkself a huge boost. The Super Eagles striker has missed the last seven games across all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen due to a hamstring injury. Xabi Alonso has largely relied on Patrik Schick and Nathan Tella to lead the attack in Boniface’s absence.

Before sustaining the injury, Boniface was in superb form, having scored eight goals and one assist in all competitions. If he is in the matchday squad on Saturday, Boniface will likely come off the bench to ramp up his conditioning.

However, if Bayer Leverkusen hold Victor Boniface out, they still have Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick leading the way, as the two have combined for 11 league goals and four assists. Granit Xhaka, Exequiel Palacios, Jeremie Frimpong, and Alex Grimaldo will also play huge roles as Bayer Leverkusen’s top creative outlets, as they’ve combined for 13 assists this year.

Fortunately for Xabi Alonso, he doesn’t have a huge injury list to deal with (despite their busy schedule) since Amine Adli (leg) and Jonas Hofmann (thigh) are their only key absentees.

 

Kubler the unsung hero for SC Freiburg

Lukas Kubler recently signed a new contract extension with SC Freiburg, and he showed the club why he deserved it. The 32-year-old full-back became the team’s second-leading scorer after scoring twice in a 3-2 win over VfL Wolfsburg. This was Kubler’s second brace of the campaign after last doing so against VfB Stuttgart during the opening matchday last August. He already surpassed his one-goal tally last season under former head coach Christian Streich.

SC Freiburg have to match Bayer Leverkusen’s firepower to end their winless run against them, and head coach Julian Schuster probably feels the Black Forest has enough. Ritsu Doan leads the team with five league goals and two assists, and Vincenzo Grifo already has three goals and eight assists. Michael Gregoritsch experienced a slow start, but he has scored twice in his last three games across all competitions.

 

History

Bayer Leverkusen achieved a league double over SC Freiburg last season via an aggregate tally of 5-3. Die Werkself could record three straight Bundesliga wins against the Black Forest for the first time since a run of four between 2004 and 2010. Xabi Alonso’s side have won their last four Bundesliga matches, which is as many as they managed across the opening 10 matchdays of this season.

SC Freiburg are on a three-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga for the first time in 2024 (W2, D1). However, they are winless in their last 16 top-flight matches against a defending champion (D4, L12), with their last win being a 2-1 result against Bayern Munich in 2015.

 

Betting Tip

The Bundesliga 2024 odds have Bayer Leverkusen as the favourites to win this weekend. Bayer Leverkusen are priced at 1.34 to win, while SC Freiburg are 7.20 underdogs, and a draw is at 4.61 in the 1X2 market. Other than going for a win for the hosts, bettors may also go for options like Over 2.50 at 1.62, Over 2.75 at 1.82, Over 3.00 at 2.09, Total Goals 2-3 at 2.07, or even Total Goals 4-6 at 2.76 given the high-scoring nature of this fixture.

Moreover, a Correct Score of 3-2 in favour of Bayer Leverkusen – the result of their last league encounter – has a huge 28.00 offer. However, if you fancy SC Freiburg’s chances to get at least one point, then check out the Correct Score of 1-1 given its decent offer of 9.20.

   

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