Preview: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Red Bull Salzburg – forecast, team news, lineups

Due to the contrasting results on the fourth matchday of the 2024/25 season Champions League, Bayer Leverkusen And Red Bull Salzburg crossed paths on Tuesday evening in their latest European affair.

In the BayArena Battle, two managers with connections to Liverpool FC will compete against each other Xabi Alonso hugged Jurgen Kloppis a former right-wing man Pep Lijnders on the sidelines.

Game preview

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After pleas from Liverpool fans for Alonso to follow in Klopp’s footsteps fell on deaf ears at the end of last season, the 2005 Champions League winner lined up in the opposition dugout at Anfield on November 5 Arne SlotThe Reds’ machine was too hot to touch.

The Bundesliga’s invincibles held out for over an hour and only showed what they were capable of in the final third, but their defense collapsed in the final 30 minutes Luis Diaz conjured up a masterful hat trick Cody Gakpo was also there the Reds are raging 4-0.

The defeat at Anfield was the first UCL defeat of the season for the Werkself, who had previously picked up a respectable seven points from nine in their first three games and are in a respectable position 13th place in the 36-team table at this point.

While Leverkusen succumbed to the brilliance of a hat-trick hero in their last Champions League game, they celebrated a treble goalscorer of their own on Saturday Patrick Schick In the 5-2 win against Heidenheim in the top flight, his team scored three of the five goals and thus ended their winless streak of three games in all tournaments.

That thrilling victory also extended Leverkusen’s unbeaten home streak in all competitions to seven games since a 3-2 defeat to RB Leipzig in August, and their 11 European Cup wins since the start of the 2023/24 season – excluding qualifying games – are the most of any team on the continent .

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Lijnders is also seen as the long-serving Klopp’s successor as Liverpool head coach, although not nearly as strongly as his nemesis this week. He brings his young Salzburg team to the BayArena with a Champions League feeling.

The Austrian Bundesliga titan, deposed as champions by Sturm Graz in the 2023/24 season, lost each of their first three European games of the season before successfully taking on Feyenoord earlier this month, running away 3-1 winners over the Dutch Giants in Rotterdam.

However, Salzburg remain outside the play-off places in 30th place in the UCL table, and their triumph in the Netherlands has not sparked a national revival; They lost their last two Austrian Bundesliga games against Blau-Weiß Linz (2:1) and most recently against LASK Linz with the same result.

Lijnders’ struggling side are already 14 points behind reigning champions Sturm Graz this season, who have played two games more Austrian Bundesliga tableand Salzburg have only won consecutive Champions League games once, beating Sevilla and Wolfsburg back-to-back in 2021.

Tuesday’s duel marks the first time Leverkusen and Salzburg have met in a competitive game, but the German champions have never lost in their five previous games against Austrian teams in Europe, winning three of those games and drawing two.

Bayer Leverkusen Champions League form:

Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):

Red Bull Salzburg Champions League form:

Red Bull Salzburg form (all competitions):

Team news

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Leverkusen’s coach Alonso is equipped almost to the bone in attack as a star striker Victor Boniface (Hip), Jonas Hofmann (hips) and Amine Adli (leg) are all injured, and Martin Terrier is out for the remainder of 2024 due to a broken arm.

Terrier is one of two new worries of the weekend for the hosts, who also lost the full-back Jeremie Frimpong He suffered a contact injury to his knee in the win over Heidenheim, which further complicated matters on that side Nordi Mukiele (Hip) is already missing.

Frimpong was able to train in the lead up to this game, but Nathan Tella should take his place for Tuesday’s tie, where Alex García and the bubbly Florian Wirtz They are expected to support hat-trick hero Schick in attack.

As for Salzburg, the visitors will be buoyed by the return of their number one goalkeeper Alexander Schlager of a European suspension, a timely impulse with Janis Blaswich currently out of the race due to a calf injury.

They are also on the sidelines for Lijnders’ team Bryan Okoh (paralyze), Leandro Morgalla (paralyze), Takumu Kawamura (Knee), Maurits Kjaergaard (ankle) and Fernando (hamstring tendon), but the latter would not displace Karim Konate anyway at the top.

The 20-year-old was the scorer of an unfortunate own goal in the defeat to LASK at the weekend, but scored twice from the right end of the field against Feyenoord and should be supported by the much-coveted goalscorer in the final third Oscar Gloukh.

Possible starting lineup for Bayer Leverkusen:
Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Tella, Xhaka, Andrich, Grimaldo; Garcia, Wirtz; Chic

Possible starting lineup for Red Bull Salzburg:
Bat; Dedic, Baidoo, Piatkowski, Terzic; Diambou, Gourna-Douath, Clark; Nene, Konate, Gloukh

We say: Bayer Leverkusen – Red Bull Salzburg 3-0

Salzburg’s outstanding win over a ten-man Feyenoord team was no omen for Tuesday’s visitors, who are still flattering domestically and are in danger of a rude awakening in Leverkusen.

Despite a handful of attacking talents being sidelined through injury, Alonso’s men are likely to prove far too strong for Salzburg’s young talents and the Bundesliga champions have our vote for a comfortable win.

To data analyze the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game Please click here.

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