Bundesliga: Leverkusen Fight Fire with Fire

TSG Hoffenheim vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen

The Bundesliga table is starting to take shape, and Leverkusen have emerged as the top dogs in the German top-flight. Under Xabi Alonso, the Werkself are having their best start to a Bundesliga season after nine games with 25 points. They look to continue their hot streak when they visit Hoffenheim at Rhein-Neckar-Arena.

Hoffenheim have a tall order as they try to fend off Leverkusen, but their potent offence is surely up for the task. Matarazzo’s squad is also having a strong start to the season, as they have made their third-best start in the German top-flight after nine games with 18 points.

Similar to what they did against Freiburg, Leverkusen, whose defense has been a bastion against opposing attacks, would unleash their own brand of attacks against a bullish Matarazzo offense.

Talking Points

Bayer retakes the Bundesliga summit with win over Freiburg

Xabi Alonso and the rest of Bayer, who are now the second-favourites to lift the Meisterschale according to the Bundesliga 2023 odds, are having a historic start to their 2023–24 campaign as they reach the summit in the Bundesliga after their victory against a threatening Freiburg squad. After clinching their overall eighth consecutive victory, the Werkself sit atop the league table with 25 points, looking down on German giants like Bayern Munich and Dortmund.

Leverkusen secured the top spot after they hosted a Christian Gunter-led Freiburg at BayArena. The home team dominated and controlled the tempo of the match since the whistle. It seemed like Xabi Alonso gave his boys the green light to pounce on the visitor’s defence every chance they got, as Granit Xhaka wasted no time and attempted a powerful long-range drive that went just wide of the post in the opening minute.

It was Florian Wirtz’s turn to take a crack at it on their next attack. The German midfielder surgically sliced through multiple defenders as he gracefully carried the ball to Freiburg’s penalty area. He created the perfect opportunity for himself at the goal before he delivered a marvelous strike that found the back of the net, a flawless opening goal to set the tone for Leverkusen for the rest of the match.

Wirtz orchestrated Bayer’s next goal when he carried the ball from their side of the field up to a dangerous distance from Freiburg’s box. He then conceded the ball when three defenders collapsed on him, but the 20-year-old was able to flick the ball to his trusty running mate, Jonas Hofmann. Hofmann had no other intention but to score when he got the ball.

The 31-year-old veteran assessed the situation as he positioned himself at the top of the box before using his canon of a right foot to fire the ball that found its way past Atubolu to extend their lead to two goals at the 60-minute mark.

The persistent Freiburg sneaked a goal for themselves in the latter part of the match via a Gulde header that came from a Grifo corner. The match ended with a 2-1 score line, which secured the three points for Xabi Alonso’s squad to put themselves atop the Bundesliga table.  

Matarazzo seeks for consistency amidst a tough November slate

Hoffenheim are one of the teams in the German top-flight that are having a stellar start. The club had an underwhelming finish in last year’s campaign, where they finished 12th in the league table. But now, it seems like the Kraichgauer are having a resurgence fueled by forwards Maximilian Beier and Andrej Kramaric as their top scorers this season.

Even though they still need to prove themselves as a team to be considered one of the elite teams in the Bundesliga, their attacking prowess can go toe to toe with any team’s offence in the German top-flight. The dangerous aspect of their offence is that although they have their two-man combo in Kramaric and Beier, a handful of other players in their squad are also well equipped and capable of producing goals and Bundesliga 2023 highlights on any given night.

They were scorching in the month of October, when they scored seven goals in just three matches, which included a three-piece against an elite Stuttgart squad.

Matarazzo’s squad has been a tad inconsistent, alternating wins and losses during their last five games. They will need to rely even heavily on their stacked offence to reel in consecutive wins, but it would be a toll task for Hoffenheim as they face Dortmund in the second round of the DFB-Pokal tomorrow before they host the scorching Leverkusen later this week.

History

Hoffenheim have lost more games at Rhein-Neckar Arena against Leverkusen than against any other team. The Kraichgauer have lost nine home games against the Werkself, and to make things more complicated for the home team, they are hosting a Leverkusen squad that are unbeaten in their last nine league games, and have tallied seven wins in a row.

With 30 encounters between these clubs under their belt, they are no strangers to one another. Hoffenheim have won seven of those thirty games, while Bayer have won 17. Six times—three at PreZero Arena and three at BayArena—they ended in draws.

Betting Tip

As the title of this article suggests, this matchup will be filled with goals. SBOTOP seems to agree, as they priced Over 3.25 at 1.70 and Over 3.5 at 3.50. Both teams have unbelievable offencive capabilities, and they surely want to showcase them against one another at Rhein-Neckar Arena.

These O/U lines hold tremendous value given that both Hoffenheim and Leverkusen can produce a bunch of goals on any night against any adversary. Even though 3.5 at 1.86 is closer to an even line than Over 3.25, the latter still holds enough value at 1.72 to get attention from punters.

Siding with Leverkusen may be the safest line to go for at 1.14, but it doesn’t hold that much value or excitement to consider.

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.