Matchday 25 means that there is still time for bottom side VfB Stuttgart to mount a good run in. They will play Bayer Leverkusen under floodlights tonight (20:30 CET) but it’ll be anything but an easy game as the Werkself will be looking to take a step in the right direction to qualify for next season’s Champions League, only four days before their last 16 second leg against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday (20:45 CET).
The pressure is increasing for the five-time champions as they are without a win in eight games. Despite dominating the game, they were unable to secure only their second home win of the season last Friday against the worst side away from home in the league, Hertha BSC, as they drew 0-0. But VfB, who closed the gap between themselves and safety to three points, are unbeaten in their last two games.
Niedermeier believes VfB are on the right track
VfB vice captain Georg Niedermeier believes that his side, even though manager Huub Stevens is coming under criticism, are on the right track. “You could see that there has been an improvement in our last few games. We’re solid at the back and don’t give many chances away. It would be a mistake to stop doing that now,” said the 29-year-old to Sport Bild.
If it was only the away form table that counted then Stuttgart would be in a Europa League place. From their twelve games away from home, they have won three, drawn five and lost only four. Will that continue in Leverkusen? Bayer have only lost one game at home all season (5-4 to Wolfsburg) but have drawn half of all their games in front of their own fans.
First game between the sides gives hope
Stuttgart don’t have to look very far for a piece of encouragement going into the game, where they will be without the suspended Martin Harnik (red card) and Moritz Leitner (5 yellow cards). In the game between the two sides before the winter break, Stuttgart were 3-0 down and looked beaten but went on to score half of their total amount of goals scored at home all season in the space of 19 minutes. Their last win in Leverkusen came back on 7th February 2009 with a 4-2 victory. The goal scorers that day were Mario Gomez, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Angelos Charisteas at Leverkusen’s second home in Düsseldorf, and that was their first win in Leverkusen since a 1-0 win back in 2002.
Bayer 04 have regained their confidence over the last few weeks. They have had tight home wins in all three competitions, even though the win against Kaiserslautern in the DFB Cup did come after extra time. Roger Schmidt’s side didn’t concede a goal in any of those three games, with the addition of their 3-0 away win in Paderborn. VfB are somewhat of a nice opposition for Bayer 04 as they have not only picked up their most points (109) and their most wins (30) against them, but they have also had the most draws against Stuttgart (13).
Matchday 25 means that there is still time for bottom side VfB Stuttgart to mount a good run in. They will play Bayer Leverkusen under floodlights tonight (20:30 CET) but it’ll be anything but an easy game as the Werkself will be looking to take a step in the right direction to qualify for next season’s Champions League, only four days before their last 16 second leg against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday (20:45 CET).
The pressure is increasing for the five-time champions as they are without a win in eight games. Despite dominating the game, they were unable to secure only their second home win of the season last Friday against the worst side away from home in the league, Hertha BSC, as they drew 0-0. But VfB, who closed the gap between themselves and safety to three points, are unbeaten in their last two games.
Niedermeier believes VfB are on the right track
VfB vice captain Georg Niedermeier believes that his side, even though manager Huub Stevens is coming under criticism, are on the right track. “You could see that there has been an improvement in our last few games. We’re solid at the back and don’t give many chances away. It would be a mistake to stop doing that now,” said the 29-year-old to Sport Bild.
If it was only the away form table that counted then Stuttgart would be in a Europa League place. From their twelve games away from home, they have won three, drawn five and lost only four. Will that continue in Leverkusen? Bayer have only lost one game at home all season (5-4 to Wolfsburg) but have drawn half of all their games in front of their own fans.
First game between the sides gives hope
Stuttgart don’t have to look very far for a piece of encouragement going into the game, where they will be without the suspended Martin Harnik (red card) and Moritz Leitner (5 yellow cards). In the game between the two sides before the winter break, Stuttgart were 3-0 down and looked beaten but went on to score half of their total amount of goals scored at home all season in the space of 19 minutes. Their last win in Leverkusen came back on 7th February 2009 with a 4-2 victory. The goal scorers that day were Mario Gomez, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Angelos Charisteas at Leverkusen’s second home in Düsseldorf, and that was their first win in Leverkusen since a 1-0 win back in 2002.
Bayer 04 have regained their confidence over the last few weeks. They have had tight home wins in all three competitions, even though the win against Kaiserslautern in the DFB Cup did come after extra time. Roger Schmidt’s side didn’t concede a goal in any of those three games, with the addition of their 3-0 away win in Paderborn. VfB are somewhat of a nice opposition for Bayer 04 as they have not only picked up their most points (109) and their most wins (30) against them, but they have also had the most draws against Stuttgart (13).
