Bayer Leverkusen face a Bundesliga summit clash on Sunday (15:30) at the BayArena against current league leaders SC Freiburg. The Werkself, sitting fourth with ten points, aim to close the three-point gap to the top and extend their winning run. Their league record after five games stands at three wins, one draw, and one loss.
Carles Martínez, the head coach of Bayer Leverkusen, views the fixture as one of the decisive ones this season. "That could lead to a fantastic game," said Martínez. He praised Freiburg as an aggressive team that knows exactly what it wants. The coach stressed his side would need to show their best performance to get a result.
Recent form favours Leverkusen. Martínez's team is unbeaten in their last five competitive matches and is on a run of four consecutive victories. These include a 4-3 win at Mainz 05 and a clear 4-0 victory in the Europa Conference League at Lech Poznań last Thursday. Patrik Schick scored twice from the penalty spot in that game and is the team's current top scorer this season with five goals. The attack averages over two goals per Bundesliga game. In the league, they have scored 14 goals and conceded eight. Recent authoritative results underline this strong run, including wins against Union Berlin (4-0), Celje (2-0), and RB Leipzig (2-0), plus a draw at FC Augsburg (2-2).
They face a SC Freiburg side that tops the table, has the league's best defence, and is also coming off a Europa League win. The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 3-3 draw back in March.
The outcome of the duel is uncertain, but Leverkusen go into it with significant momentum. The Werkself's next game is thus a direct showdown with the title rival on Sunday 18 October.
Further reading: focus.de
