Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Preview, Prediction and Betting Tips

Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Preview

High-flying Bayer Leverkusen visit the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in Baku on Thursday to face Qarabag for the first leg of their round of 16 clash in the Europa League. Die Werkself are the overwhelming favorites here, given their astonishing run of 34 games unbeaten in all competitions this season.

Xabi Alonso’s side have whipped up a storm with their epic run, not losing even once since the beginning of their 2023-24 campaign. The side is leading the race for the Bundesliga title, are into the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal cup, and have cantered into the knockout stages of the Europa League too after six wins from six in the group stages.

Interestingly, two of those wins came against Qarabag, who were in Group H too. Leverkusen beat them 5-1 at home, before a slender 1-0 victory away from home. The Azeri side, who finished second in the group, overcame Braga 6-5 on aggregate in the knockout round play-offs. The Horsemen secured a thumping 4-2 victory in Portugal before a 3-2 loss at home, but courtesy of a superior aggregate score, reached the last-16.

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Since that game, Gurban Gurbanov’s side have won their next three games, all coming in the Azerbaijan Premier League as Qarabag strengthened their position at the top of the league table with 60 points from 25 games, at least 23 more than any other side.

Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Team News and Predicted Lineups

Qarabag

Qarabag won’t have Kevin Medina for the clash with an injury. The center-back has been out since November last year and his return is unknown. Richard Almeida will return from his red card-enforced suspension after missing their second leg against Braga. Meanwhile, left-back Elvin Cafarquliyev, though, will miss the encounter for his record in their last Europa League match.

Predicted XI: Andrey Lunev; Marko Vesovic, Behlul Mustafazada, Abbas Huseynov, Elvin Cafarguliyev; Júlio Romão, Marko Janković; Leandro Andrade, Yassine Benzia, Abdellah Zoubir; Juninho

Bayer Leverkusen

Die Werkself will miss Arthur with a muscle injury, whereas Victor Boniface is currently out with an adductor problem and is expected to return only in April. In Boniface’s absence, Patrik Schick will continue to lead the line for the visitors. Jeremie Frimpong has scored in three of their last four games in all competitions and will most likely start again to add more firepower to their lineup.

Predicted XI: Lukas Hradecky; Josip Stanisic, Jonathan Tah, Piero Hincapie; Jeremie Frimpong, Robert Andrich, Granit Xhaka, Alex Grimaldo; Jonas Hofmann, Florian Wirtz; Patrick Schick

Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Head-To-Head

There have been only two clashes between the sides before. Both those encounters came this season in the group stages of the Europa League, with Leverkusen prevailing in both clashes.

Bayer Leverkusen 5-1 Qarabag (October 2023, Europa League)

Qarabag 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen (November 2023, Europa League)

Leverkusen were dominant in their first encounter. Goals from Florian Wirtz, Victor Boniface, and Edmond Tapsoba, coupled with a brace from Alex Grimaldo, got the job done for the Bundesliga outfit. Toral Bayramov had equalized for Qarabag after Wirtz’s opener, but it only spurned Leverkusen thereafter. In the return, the Azeri side put up a tougher opposition and had almost secured a draw. But Victor Boniface broke Qarabag’s hearts in the fourth minute of stoppage time with a match-winning penalty.

Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Predicted Score

Qarabag will be playing deep once again at home, as they did a few months ago in the group stages. Leverkusen, though, have emerged as one of the most menacing sides in all of Europe this season, let alone the Europa League, and will be a huge test of the home side’s resolve. Die Werkself may not have it easy again but should be able to see them off once more, nonetheless.

Predicted Score: Qarabag 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Betting Tips and Odds

Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Betting Tips

• Bayer Leverkusen to beat Qarabag
• Both teams to score
• Goals over 2.5: yes

Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Odds

• Qarabag: 9.00
• Draw: 5.25
• Bayer Leverkusen: 1.43
• Odds Source: Oddspedia

Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Timing and Telecast

• Date and Time: Thursday, 7th March, at 05:45 PM (GMT)
• India: Sony Sports network
• UK: TNT Sports
• US: CBS
• Germany: RTL

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