|
|
Played
February 4, 2012 9:30 AM EST
BayArena — Leverkusen
Referee: T. Kinhöfer
Attendance: 27929
February 4, 2012 9:30 AM EST
BayArena — Leverkusen
Referee: T. Kinhöfer
Attendance: 27929
Bundesliga Preview: Bayer Leverkusen - Stuttgart
Robin Dutt's side hopes to make up for lost points as it plays host to the Swabians, who will be without recently-sold striker Pavel Pogrebnyak.
By Clark Whitney
Bongarts
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
|
LEVERKUSEN
 Leno Corluka, Schwaab, Friedrich, Kadlec Reinartz, Bender, Rolfes Castro, Derdiyok, Schurrle |
STUTTGART
 Ulreich Boulahrouz, Tasci, Maza, Molinaro Harnik, Kvist, Hajnal, Okazaki Ibisevic, Cacau |
Robin Dutt is expected to adopt a conservative approach to Saturday's match, using three primarily defensive midfielders behind a front three that will feature Andre Schurrle as half-winger, half-center forward. New signing Vedran Corluka is tipped to start his first match at the BayArena. Rene Adler, Tranquillo Barnetta, and Sidney Sam are all unfit.
With Pavel Pogrebnyak having been sold to Fulham earlier this week, Vedad Ibisevic is certain to start in the center of attack. Mamadou bah, Arthur Boka, and Ibrahima Traore are all missing due to their participation at the African Cup of Nations. As well, Matthieu Delpierre is suspended, and Timo Gebhart and Johan Audel are both lacking fitness to play.
| |
DID YOU KNOW? |
-
Leverkusen has a positive record at home, but has been out scored 13-12 at the BayArena.
- To date, Robin Dutt's side has been better on the road than at home. Away the club has lost just two of 10, winning four. In front of the home fans, the club has won four and lost three of its nine matches.
- Summer signing Andre Schurrle has found the net just twice in the Bundesliga this season, and has not scored since Nov. 5.
- Stuttgart has lost its last four Bundesliga games, and are winless since Nov. 20.
- Martin Harnik has directly contributed to nine of his team's 24 goals.
- The Swabians have won just two of their nine away games this season.
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
Leverkusen 2-1 Stuttgart
- 24.36 %
-
Leverkusen 3-1 Stuttgart
- 15.39 %
-
Leverkusen 2-0 Stuttgart
- 14.1 %
| 1. Bundesliga (GER1) | Feb 4, 2012 | Leverkusen 2 - Stuttgart 2 |
|
| 1. Bundesliga (GER1) | Aug 20, 2011 | Stuttgart 0 - Leverkusen 1 |
|
| 1. Bundesliga (GER1) | Feb 20, 2011 | Leverkusen 4 - Stuttgart 2 |
|
| 1. Bundesliga (GER1) | Sep 25, 2010 | Stuttgart 1 - Leverkusen 4 |
|
| 1. Bundesliga (GER1) | Apr 17, 2010 | Stuttgart 2 - Leverkusen 1 |
|
Leverkusen
   |
||
| May 5, 2012 | Nürnberg 1 - Leverkusen 4 | GER1 |
| Apr 28, 2012 | Leverkusen 1 - Hannover 96 0 | GER1 |
| Apr 21, 2012 | TSG Hoffenheim 0 - Leverkusen 1 | GER1 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | Leverkusen 3 - Hertha BSC 3 | GER1 |
| Apr 11, 2012 | Leverkusen 3 - FC Kaiserslautern 1 | GER1 |
Stuttgart
  |
||
| May 5, 2012 | Stuttgart 3 - Wolfsburg 2 | GER1 |
| Apr 28, 2012 | Bayern 2 - Stuttgart 0 | GER1 |
| Apr 21, 2012 | FC Köln 1 - Stuttgart 1 | GER1 |
| Apr 13, 2012 | Stuttgart 4 - Werder Bremen 1 | GER1 |
| Apr 10, 2012 | FC Augsburg 1 - Stuttgart 3 | GER1 |
| 23 | Bernd Leno | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Daniel Schwaab | Defender |
| 3 | Stefan Reinartz | Defender |
| 5 | Manuel Friedrich | Defender |
| 14 | Vedran Corluka | Defender |
| 24 | Michal Kadlec | Defender |
| 27 | Gonzalo Castro | Defender |
| 6 | Simon Rolfes | Midfielder |
| 8 | Lars Bender | Midfielder |
| 11 | Stefan Kießling | Striker |
| 9 | Andre Schürrle | Striker |
| 36 | Fabian Giefer | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | Bastian Oczipka | Defender |
| 20 | Danny da Costa | Defender |
| 21 | Ömer Toprak | Defender |
| 10 | Renato Augusto | Midfielder |
| 13 | Michael Ballack | Midfielder |
| 18 | Sidney Sam | Midfielder |
| 1 | Sven Ulreich | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Cristian Molinaro | Defender |
| 5 | Serdar Tasci | Defender |
| 6 | Georg Niedermeier | Defender |
| 21 | Khalid Boulahrouz | Defender |
| 8 | William Kvist Jörgensen | Midfielder |
| 20 | Christian Gentner | Midfielder |
| 9 | Vedad Ibisevic | Striker |
| 18 | Cacau | Striker |
| 23 | Julian Schieber | Striker |
| 31 | Shinji Okazaki | Striker |
| 22 | Marc Ziegler | Goalkeeper |
| 14 | Francisco Javier Rodríguez | Defender |
| - | Antonio Rüdiger | Defender |
| 8 | Zdravko Kuzmanovic | Midfielder |
| 16 | Raphael Holzhauser | Midfielder |
| 28 | Tamas Hajnal | Midfielder |
| 7 | Martin Harnik | Striker |
| Vedran Corluka | |
| Position: | Defender |
| Squad Number: | 14 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vedad Ibisevic | |
| Position: | Striker |
| Squad Number: | 9 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
Results
Times In EST
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Striker Schalke |
29 | 6 |
|
Mario Gomez
Striker FC Bayern München |
26 | 4 |
|
Robert Lewandowski
Striker Borussia Dortmund |
22 | 0 |
|
Lukas Podolski
Striker FC Koln |
18 | 3 |
|
Claudio Pizarro
Striker Werder Bremen |
18 | 2 |