Played
February 3, 2013 6:30 PM SAST
BayArena — Leverkusen
Referee:‬ D. Aytekin‎
Attendance:‬ 30210‎
 

Bayer Leverkusen-Borussia Dortmund Preview: Key battle in race for second place

Both teams have been in fine form of late and will be looking to assert themselves as the nearest challengers to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga

By Enis Koylu

More On :  Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund v 1. FC Nuernberg - Bundesliga
Getty Images
  PROBABLE LINEUPS

LEVERKUSEN

Leno
Carvajal, Wollscheid, Toprak, Boenisch
Bender, Reinartz, Rolfes
Castro, Kiessling, Schurrle

DORTMUND
 
Weidenfeller
Piszczek, Santana, Hummels, Schmelzer
Gundogan, Kehl
Blaszczykowski, Gotze, Reus
Lewandowski
 

Both teams come into this fixture with a minimum of injuries. For Leverkusen, the only notable absence is young attacker Karim Bellarabi.

Sebastian Boenisch is expected to continue on the left-hand side of defence ahead of Michal Kadlec.

Meanwhile, Felipe Santana will deputise for Neven Subotic at the heart of the Dortmund defence once again, as the Serbian continues his road back to full fitness from a hamstring injury.

Patrick Owomoyela remains sidelined. Nuri Sahin will have to continue his wait for a first Bundesliga start since returning to the club, while Sven Bender will also start on the bench.

  DID YOU KNOW?
  • Leverkusen are currently unbeaten at home in the Bundesliga this season, and have won their last five BayArena clashes.
  • What's more, they have only lost two of their last 16 games. Ominously, these both came on a Sunday afternoon.
  • Werkself midfielder Lars Bender (pictured, right) could face his twin brother Sven in the centre of the park on Sunday. The Leverkusen man has never beaten his sibling.
  • Dortmund have only lost one of their last 11 games against Leverkusen - a 2-0 home reverse on the opening day of the 2010-11 season. 
  • Robert Lewandowski has scored 12 Bundesliga goals this season. Only Stefan Kiessling, his opposite number on Sunday, has scored more. 
  • Jakub 'Kuba' Blaszczykowski has provided eight assists this season, his personal best-ever tally.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
    17.38 %
  • Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
    16.99 %
  • Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0-2 Borussia Dortmund
    9.96 %
Head to Head
Germany - 1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ 03 Feb 2013 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2 - Borussia Dortmund 3
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Germany - 1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ 15 Sep 2012 Borussia Dortmund 3 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0
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Germany - 1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ 11 Feb 2012 Borussia Dortmund 1 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0
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Germany - 1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ 27 Aug 2011 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0 - Borussia Dortmund 0
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Germany - 1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ 14 Jan 2011 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1 - Borussia Dortmund 3
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Last Five Matches
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
18 May 2013Hamburger SV 0 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1GER1
11 May 2013Bayer 04 Leverkusen 3 - Hannover 96 1GER1
04 May 20131. FC Nürnberg 0 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2GER1
27 Apr 2013Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1 - Werder Bremen 0GER1
20 Apr 2013Bayer 04 Leverkusen 5 - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 0GER1
Borussia Dortmund
25 May 2013Borussia Dortmund 1 - Bayern Munich 2UCL
18 May 2013Borussia Dortmund 1 - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 2GER1
11 May 2013VfL Wolfsburg 3 - Borussia Dortmund 3GER1
04 May 2013Borussia Dortmund 1 - Bayern Munich 1GER1
30 Apr 2013Real Madrid 2 - Borussia Dortmund 0UCL
Odds
Team News
Available Squads
1Bernd LenoGoalkeeper
4Philipp WollscheidDefender
2Sebastian BoenischDefender
20Daniel CarvajalDefender
21Ömer ToprakDefender
3Stefan ReinartzMidfielder
6Simon RolfesMidfielder
8Lars BenderMidfielder
27G. CastroDefender
9Andre SchürrleStriker
11Stefan KießlingStriker
1Michael RensingGoalkeeper
2Daniel SchwaabDefender
5Manuel FriedrichDefender
13Jens HegelerMidfielder
14Hajime HosogaiMidfielder
18Sidney SamMidfielder
-Arkadiusz MilikStriker
20Mitchell LangerakGoalkeeper
15Mats HummelsDefender
26Lukasz PiszczekDefender
27Felipe SantanaDefender
29Marcel SchmelzerDefender
6Sven BenderMidfielder
8Ilkay GündoganMidfielder
10Mario GötzeMidfielder
16Jakub BlaszczykowskiMidfielder
9Robert LewandowskiStriker
11Marco ReusMidfielder
33Zlatan AlomerovicGoalkeeper
5Sebastian KehlMidfielder
7Moritz LeitnerMidfielder
8Nuri SahinMidfielder
19Kevin GroßkreutzMidfielder
32Leonardo BittencourtMidfielder
23Julian SchieberStriker
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Stefan Kießling Stefan Kießling
Striker
Leverkusen 		25 4
Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski
Striker
Dortmund 		24 1
Alexander Meier Alexander Meier
Midfielder
Eintracht Frankfurt 		17 3
Vedad Ibisevic Vedad Ibisevic
Striker
VfB Stuttgart 		15 5
Mario Mandzukic Mario Mandzukic
Striker
Bayern 		15 0