Bayer Leverkusen will head to Borussia Dortmund in good spirits on Sunday afternoon.
Having recently been crowned the Bundesliga champions, Leverkusen booked their place in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday after claiming a 3-1 aggregate win over West Ham, a result that extended their unbeaten run to 44 games in all competitions this term.
Xabi Alonso’s treble hunters supplanted Juventus’ record in the process, and they are the only team in Europe’s top five leagues not to taste defeat this term.
While Dortmund have failed to hit the heights domestically this season as they are 23 points adrift of Leverkusen in fourth place, they produced a rousing comeback in the Champions League to overcome Atletico Madrid and punch a semi-final berth.
Signal Iduna Park will be rocking once again, but can Dortmund topple Leverkusen?
I have dashed over to the betting markets and handpicked a couple of value tips for you to consider adding to your slips.
No let-up from Leverkusen
While it might be tempting to take the foot off the gas now the Bundesliga title is in the bag, Alonso won’t allow his troops to do that.
After the pre-match niceties have been wrapped up, which will most likely include an expected guard of honour, Leverkusen will want to produce a performance worthy of champions.
With five games to go, Leverkusen, who have been invincible to date, could eclipse Bayern Munich’s record tally of 91 points in the 2012/13 campaign should they reel off five wins.
However, they still have a way to go before they surpass Bayern’s unbeaten league record of 53 games which they achieved when Pep Guardiola was in charge.
Leverkusen, although not at their imperious best against West Ham, have only conceded 19 goals to date, and the task facing Dortmund appears to be monumental.
The last three clashes have failed to see the Over 2.5 goals line hit, so it could be a keenly fought encounter.
Anyway, for my first pick, I’m leaning towards the Winning Margin line, and Leverkusen to prevail by one goal. Paddy Power has you covered with a delicious 7/2 price.
Florian Wirtz to provide platform for the win
It’s fair to assert that Florian Wirtz has been sublime for Leverkusen this term and his performances have lit up the Bundesliga.
Although he’s only 20, Wirtz is a metronome and he has more than contributed on the goal front.
Yes, 21 goal involvements in Germany’s top flight (11 goals and 10 assists) is a career-high return from Wirtz, and let’s not forget that last weekend, he leapt off the bench to plunder a hat-trick against Werder Bremen.
Should Wirtz start, which I think he will, I’m backing him to grab the first goal of the game. I have located inviting odds of 10/1 served up by bet365 for that outcome.
Bet £10, Get £50 in Bonuses
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