Bayer Leverkusen are taking the belief gained from finishing in the top eight of the Champions League standings into the latter stages of their Bundesliga title defence. Xabi Alonso‘s men, who sit six points behind leaders Bayern Munich in second place in the German top flight, host Hoffenheim this weekend fresh from securing direct passage to the Champions League last 16 by beating Sparta Prague on Wednesday.
“That’s why we play in the Champions League — to compete at the highest level,” said Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah.
“We have shown that we can compete with anyone at this level.”
Leverkusen have only lost one domestic match since the start of last season in a remarkable run.
After a sluggish start to the Bundesliga campaign, Leverkusen have powered back into contention despite last weekend’s draw with RB Leipzig, when they let a two-goal lead slip.
Bayern, who face Holstein Kiel on Saturday, will visit Leverkusen between their two Champions League play-off round legs after missing out on a top-eight finish in Europe.
The Bavarians have not won at Leverkusen since 2021 and Alonso is yet to suffer a defeat by Bayern since taking charge.
But Tah does not expect Bayern’s packed schedule to give his team any edge in the battle for the Bundesliga.
“Bayern Munich are used to playing every three days,” he said.
Leverkusen were also boosted by the news Victor Boniface’s planned move to Saudi Arabia has fallen through, giving the defending champions extra attacking power to keep fighting on three fronts.
‘Everything in Bayern’s hands’
Bayern have not yet added any senior players to their squad in the transfer market, which closes on Monday.
But coach Vincent Kompany is not overly worried about having to face a Champions League play-off against either his former club Manchester City or Celtic.
“We have to rebuild our momentum,” Kompany said after his side’s win — their seventh in eight games in all competitions — over Slovan Bratislava was not enough to sneak into the top eight.
“It was clear the big games would come… From now on, everything is in our hands again.”
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund travel to Heidenheim on Saturday for interim boss Mike Tullberg’s last game in charge before former Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt and Monaco coach Niko Kovac takes over.
Despite sitting in 11th place with just one win in their last eight league games, Dortmund are still within striking distance of the top four.
They are six points behind fourth-placed Stuttgart.
One to watch: Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart)
Despite Paris Saint-Germain ending their Champions League hopes on Wednesday, Stuttgart still had something to celebrate, with Germany midfielder Angelo Stiller extending his contract with the club by a year until 2028.
The 23-year-old’s performances for Stuttgart, who are back in the Champions League qualification places after finishing second last season, earned him a Germany call-up.
The talented midfielder, who came through Bayern Munich’s youth set-up, is at the heart of everything Stuttgart do in attack and defence.
“(He is) an important building block in the team’s structure,” Stuttgart sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth said of Stiller.
Key stats
31 points – Mainz’s 31 points from 19 games is the second-best run in the club’s history after 2010-11, when the Thomas Tuchel-coached side had 33.
Eight – Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy has eight league goals from 16 games, one fewer than the nine he has from eight Champions League matches this season.
0 – Second-division Magdeburg have not won a home game this season but still sit third in the Bundesliga 2 table.
Fixtures (1430 GMT unless stated)
Friday
Werder Bremen v Mainz (1930)
Saturday
St Pauli v Augsburg, Bayern Munich v Holstein Kiel, Bochum v Freiburg, Stuttgart v Borussia Moenchengladbach, Heidenheim v Borussia Dortmund, Union Berlin v RB Leipzig (1730)
Sunday
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen v Hoffenheim (1630)
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