Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen Prediction, Odds and Lineups: Back the Reds at 2/1
Liverpool's 100% winning start in the Champions League under Arne Slot will be put to the test tonight against German champions Bayer Leverkusen who are managed by ex-Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso.
Alonso's return to Anfield is set for 8pm and can be watched live on TNT Sport.
Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen Predictions
Liverpool hero Xabi Alonso became one of the most highly regarded and wanted managers in the world last season when he took a Bayer Leverkusen side who had finished 6th the previous year to the top of the league, going unbeaten in the whole season. This broke Bayern Munich's 11-year reign of dominance in Germany. They also won the DFB-Pokal and were one game away from completing a famous treble; however, they lost to Atalanta in the final of the Europa League.
While Alonso is still a highly sought-after manager and is the favourite for the Real Madrid job when Ancelotti leaves, he and his team have not hit the same heights they did last season. They currently sit in 4th place but are level on points with 6th place and seven points behind 1st place Bayern Munich. They have only won four league games out of nine this season.
Liverpool, on the other hand, is flying under Arne Slot, who was originally the second-choice manager behind Alonso to be Klopp's successor. They are top of the Premier League table and have won every Champions League game so far. Their defence has been excellent, particularly in Europe, where they have only conceded one goal so far.
Alonso will be hoping for a fairytale return to Anfield tonight. However, as my first prediction, I am backing the home side to win by 2+ goals.
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One Leverkusen player who has looked exactly like he did last season is Florian Wirtz. The German attacking midfielder has been in excellent form this season, scoring 4 goals in 9 Bundesliga games. He has also found the back of the net three times in three Champions League games.
Wirtz has been as electric as ever this season, and you can expect him to cause Liverpool some trouble tonight. While Liverpool have not been conceding many goals this season, they have been guilty of allowing some good chances to get past their defence, with Alisson and Kelleher producing fine saves in many games this season.
Wirtz loves to shoot. He is averaging 2 shots on target per game in the Bundesliga and Champions League this season, and I expect him to get himself into some shooting opportunities tonight.
With that in mind, my second tip is for Florian Wirtz to get 2+ shots on target, priced at 9/2, which seems generous to me.
Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen Lineups
Luis Diaz and Curtis Jones come in for Liverpool, while the likes of Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz feature for the visitors.
Full starting lineups below:
| # | Starting XI | Fouls | Goals | Shots | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | Caoimhín Odhrán Kelleher | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Konstantinos Tsimikas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Virgil van Dijk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Ibrahima Konaté | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | Trent John Alexander-Arnold | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Alexis Mac Allister | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Ryan Jiro Gravenberch | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Curtis Julian Jones | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Cody Mathès Gakpo | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Luis Fernando Díaz Marulanda | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Substitutes | Fouls | Goals | Shots | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | Jarell Amorin Amorin Quansah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 84 | Conor Bradley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 95 | Harvey Davies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Wataru Endo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Joseph Dave Gomez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | Vítězslav Jaroš | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 80 | Tyler Scott Morton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Andrew Henry Robertson | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Dominik Szoboszlai | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Starting XI | Fouls | Goals | Shots | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lukáš Hrádecký | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Piero Martín Hincapié Reyna | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Jonathan Glao Tah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Edmond Fayçal Tapsoba | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Alejandro Grimaldo García | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Aleix García Serrano | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | Granit Xhaka | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Exequiel Alejandro Palacios | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Jeremie Agyekum Frimpong | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Victor Okoh Boniface | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Florian Richard Wirtz | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Substitutes | Fouls | Goals | Shots | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Robert Andrich | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Jonas Hofmann | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Matěj Kovář | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Niklas Lomb | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Francis-Ikechukwu Onyeka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Patrik Schick | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Nathan Adewale Temitayo Tella | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Arthur Augusto de Matos Soares | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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