Leverkusen's confidence is high after securing three straight victories, but their defensive numbers are not looking promising at all. Lech Poznan are scoring more than two goals on average this season, so I am predicting an entertaining contest on Thursday.
Key Stats
- Lech Poznan have seen over 3.5 goals in their last 4 matches.
- Bayer Leverkusen have seen over 3.5 goals in 5 of their last 7 matches.
No Previous Meetings
This is going to be the first head to head match between Lech Poznan and Bayer Leverkusen.
Lech Poznan are the Polish Champions
Lech Poznan stood no chance in their Europa League opening match in mid-September, losing convincingly to Crystal Palace 4-0 at Selhurst Park. They had a couple of solid efforts, firing six shots on target.
The Polish champions responded immediately by defeating Radomiak Radom 5-1 in the Ekstraklasa, Patrik Walemark and Pablo Rodriguez scoring two goals each.
They returned to action after the international break last weekend by demolishing Slask Wroclaw 4-1 on the road and maintained second place after nine rounds (seven wins, one draw, one defeat).
Leverkusen Ramping up Victories Across Competitions
Bayer Leverkusen justified the favorites role in the EL first round, beating Celje 2-0 at home without any problems (2.40-0.89 xG and 17-5 shots).
They also made a lot of progress in the Bundesliga recently, accumulating ten points from the last four appearances and moving up to 4th place.
After beating Leipzig 2-0 in late September, Leverkusen returned to action last weekend with a dramatic 4-3 road victory against Mainz. The opposition had higher xG here 3.13-2.09 and more shots 23-16.
Team News & Predicted Lineups
Lech Poznan (4-2-3-1) Bartosz Mrozek; Joel Pereira, Antonio Milic, Elias Andersson, Michal Gurgul; Radoslaw Murawski, Jesper Karlstrom; Dino Hotic, Afonso Sousa, Kristoffer Velde; Mikael Ishak
Lech Poznan enter the fixture without suspended midfielder Radoslaw Murawski, while Alex Douglas and Ali Gholizadeh remain sidelined through injury alongside doubtful duo Antoni Kozubal and Kamil Jakobczyk.
Lech Poznan enter the fixture without suspended midfielder Radoslaw Murawski, while Alex Douglas and Ali Gholizadeh remain sidelined through injury alongside doubtful duo Antoni Kozubal and Kamil Jakobczyk.
Bayer Leverkusen (4-2-3-1) Mark Flekken; Lucas Vazquez, Jarell Quansah, Edmond Tapsoba, Miguel Gutierrez; Aleix Garcia, Robert Andrich; Malik Tillman, Ibrahim Maza, Martin Terrier; Patrik Schick
The visitors are missing Christian Kofane, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Guela Doue, Montrell Culbreath, and Kennet Eichhorn due to injuries.
The visitors are missing Christian Kofane, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Guela Doue, Montrell Culbreath, and Kennet Eichhorn due to injuries.