(H)all(er) Good things come in threes
A preview of the game against Frankfurt can start with a number three fact or two – thinking back to Kevin Volland's hat-trick in the last game against Eintracht where the Werkself were able to brush aside the visitors in a 4-1 victory in the Volland show. Hats off! The team from Hesse have only secured one consolation goal in the last three meetings with the Werkself and nothing else. The number three is very apt: Bayer 04 are unbeaten in the last three league games and Sébastien Haller, Luca Jovic and Co. are facing a run of three defeats. Can the Werkself do it? That's what we want! For the third time!
Defend! Defend!
Talking about Haller, Jovic and Co. , It will be important to shut out Eintracht's top two strikers – or at least make sure they hardly get a sniff of a chance as Heiko Herrlich called for at the pre-match press conference on Friday. That has worked really well recently: Bayer 04 have only conceded one goal in the last three league games – less than any other Bundesliga team. An ideal example for the Werkself of how to stop the sharpshooters from Frankfurt could be last weekend's 1-0 home win for Hertha Berlin. Namely, the third best attack in the league (30 goals) failed to score for the first time this season. Hopefully Frankfurt's problems in front of goal in the Bundesliga can carry on as the team coached by Adi Hütter is, and will remain, a direct rival for Leverkusen: Three points would see the Herrlich team reduce the gap to the DFB Cup winners to two points. Fingers crossed! Above all for Lukas Hradecky who is set to face his former team-mates for the first time since his move to Leverkusen in the summer. A fine time to show how good it's been…
Against the stats
Five of the previous six meetings in the league against the Black and Whites have been won by the Black and Reds with the last defeat back in 2016 (1-2 in Frankfurt). A curious stat: The last ten Bundesliga fixtures between the two teams in Frankfurt have seen the Werkself and Eintracht win alternately. Last season there was a Black and Red 1-0 victory in Frankfurt so if the run is to continue that would suggest victory for Eintracht this time round. But that's not what we want. It is very likely there will be a winner as the two teams have not drawn in the last 16 meetings. And it's advantage to the Werkself at the moment with 10 wins and six defeats. And this time too?
Volland's the man
Kevin Volland, who was rested for the Europa League game against Larnaca and did not travel to Cyprus, could again play an important role in today's game. Perhaps because Heiko Herrlich also knows how much the Werkself number 31 likes scoring against Eintracht – 'Volli' has already found the back of the net eight times against Frankfurt – more than against any other Bundesliga team. Five of those were wearing a Leverkusen shirt in the last three meetings. Team-mate Dominik Kohr also has an excellent record against Eintracht: He has not lost in any of the seven games against Frankfurt – however, 'Hard Kohr' has picked up six yellow cards in this fixture. Again, the 24-year-old goes into the game on a booking -the next will not only be his fifth in the current campaign but also the 50th in his Bundesliga career. Typical Hardkohr!
Last results: 1-0 (A), 4-1 (H)
Referee: Dr. Felix Brych (Munich)
Weather forecast: 2 degrees, overcast
Predicted attendance: 46,000 including 1,150 from Leverkusen
TV broadcaster: Sky
