Following the greatest calendar year in the club’s history was never going to be easy, but Bayer Leverkusen opened 2025 in impressive fashion by becoming the first away side to win at Borussia Dortmund in this season’s Bundesliga (3-2). Manager Xabi Alonso described it as a “serious performance” as Die Werkself stretched their unbeaten Bundesliga run to 14 matches (W9, D5), winning the last six in succession.
Such strong form has lifted Leverkusen back into contention to retain their title, with just four points separating them from leaders Bayern Munich heading into this midweek round of fixtures. Alonso’s men start as favourites against an in-form Mainz side largely thanks to a 12-match unbeaten run at the BayArena (W10, D2), while they also won both meetings in the Bundesliga last term.
Mainz are unlikely to be too fazed by that, given that they’ve avoided defeat on two of their last four trips to Leverkusen (W1, D1, L2). Further reason for confidence can be found from their active three-match winning streak in the Bundesliga, with the first two matches in that sequence coming against sides who sit alongside Leverkusen in the table’s top-three (Bayern and Frankfurt).
Their 2-0 victory over Bochum on Saturday was far more routine and lifted them into the top-four come the end of play on Saturday. Such a dramatic turnaround from last season, when Mainz had 18 points less at this stage, is a credit to boss Bo Henriksen, who has seen his side beaten on the road just once across all competitions this term (W5, D2).
Players to watch: Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong assisted his side’s decisive goal against Dortmund on Friday, and has directly contributed to four goals in six H2Hs against Mainz (G2, A2). Only Harry Kane (15) and Omar Marmoush (14) have outscored Mainz striker Jonathan Burkardt in the Bundesliga this season (12), while his brace against Bochum moved him clear as the club’s all-time top scorer in the competition (35).
Hot stat: Just five of the 37 historical H2Hs ended level (LEV: W20, L12).
Note: THE LIVE MATCH IS HOSTED BY A THIRD-PARTY WEBSITE, AND WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING CAUSED BY THE THIRD PARTY.
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