Bayer Leverkusen vs Tottenham Hotspur
UEFA Champions League – Group E
Date: Tuesday, 18th September, 2016,
Kick-Off: 19:45 UK,
Venue: BayArena, Leverkusen.
Bayer Leverkusen’s season isn’t going quite to plan at the moment after their excellent campaign last term. Their 2-1 loss to Werder Bremen on Saturday made it two defeats, three draws, and just two wins in their last seven matches in all competitions and pushed them down to a disappointing 9th position in the Bundesliga.
As far as the Champions League goes it could have gone a lot worse for them. They will be disappointed not to have beaten CSKA Moscow at home in the opening group match, but a 1-1 draw in Monaco keeps them well in the hunt for one of the qualification positions. A win on Tuesday could send them to the top of the pile, and if it doesn’t, it at least takes them into 2nd place.
Whilst Bayer Leverkusen’s results might not be what they had hoped for, they are at least doing well going forward. They have netted seven times in their last four outings and have only failed to score once this season. This is largely thanks to the heroics of ex-Manchester United super-sub Javier Hernandez. The Mexican poacher has seven goals to his name this season, one of which came in the Champions League. He has netted five times in his last four games as well, including a hat trick in their 3-2 win at Mainz. He will be the main threat that Tottenham Hotspur have to deal with, although Hakan Calhanoglu isn’t to be ignored either.
There will be a couple of key absentees for both these sides in the attacking department though. Joel Pohjanpalo has four Bundesliga goals this season but is sidelined with a broken metatarsal, whilst Harry Kane was just hitting his stride before damaging his ankle ligaments for Spurs. This being said, Heung-Min Son has stepped up to the plate for Spurs, scoring five goals in all competitions including one in the Champions League. Dele Alli has found the net three times as well, including one in each of his last two outings.
The latest of these goals came against West Brom as Spurs salvaged a point through Alli’s 89th minute equaliser. This ended their five match winning streak but extended their unbeaten run. Their last defeat came in their Champions League group opener at home to Monaco, but a 1-0 win in Moscow made up for that disappointment.
Overall Spurs have looked very impressive at times this season. Their only defeat came against Monaco, and they have proven they’re not solely reliant on Kane, with some excellent performances since his injury. Heung-Min Son is a hugely underrated player for the North London outfit, and I expect him to play a key role on Tuesday.
Spurs have scored in every single one of their 11 fixtures in all competitions this season, whilst Bayer Leverkusen have conceded in eight of their ten outings as well. With both teams in such excellent scoring form I expect a few goals in this one, so I’m backing Both Teams to Score at 4/6 along with a 2-2 correct score prediction at 11/1. The absence of Toby Alderweireld at the back will be a big loss for Spurs as well, and strengthens Leverkusen’s chance of finding the net.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Tottenham: Head-to-Head Stats
The only previous meeting between the two sides was during the group phase of UEFA Europa League at the BayArena on November 2006. Tottenham won the fixture by a 1-0 narrow margin, thanks to a first half-goal from none other than Dimitar Berbatov, who once embraced the Leverkusen colours.
Bayer Leverkusen have a poor record against Premier League clubs in UEFA Competitions. The lost 12 times from 19 meetings, getting away with 3 wins and 4 draws. Their 10 matches against English sides saw them winning 3 times, while they lost in 5 and held to drawn on 2 occasions.
Tottenham have a fairly even record against Bundesliga outfits. They won 9 and drawn 2 of the 18 fixtures, while losing in 7. They lost 6 times in 10 visits to Germany; managing 3 wins and a draw during the time.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Tottenham: Prediction
Leverkusen’s domestic performance this season clearly suggests that they do not have the consistency like in past seasons. They have dropped points against teams of lower stature and at times displayed some brilliant attacking football. In terms of productivity, they far behind and they are coming here on the back of 2 wins from their last 7 matches in all competitions.
And they are up against a Tottenham side whose only loss in 11 matches this season came against Monaco on the opening matchday of current Champions League season. The visiting Premier League outfit will miss the service of their start striker Harry Keane. But Pochettino have already shown that he has got this covered. And we can expect them to get the better of their Bundesliga rivals by a narrow margin.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Tottenham: Betting Tips
Tottenham to win at 3.50 (5/2)
Under 2.5 goals at 2.00 (1/1).
