Opponent analysis: RB Leipzig vs. Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Huge game at the Red Bull Arena!

On Saturday evening at 18:30 CET, RB Leipzig welcome the current table-toppers to the Red Bull Arena as we kick off the second half of the season with a home tie against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

The Werkself are unbeaten through the first 17 games of the Bundesliga, and are also yet to be knocked out of the Europa League and DFB Pokal. This weekend’s encounter, then, represents a tricky test for RBL.

We’ve gathered everything you need to know about Leverkusen’s form, key players and record against RBL in our opponent analysis.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s current form

Leverkusen are the only team in Europe’s top leagues to remain without defeat for the season, winning their last four competitive games. However, their first outing after the winter break, proved to be far from a straightforward affair against FC Augsburg, remaining on a knife-edge for much of the game. Exequiel Palacios struck in the 40th minute of the second half to give his side a decisive 1-0 lead.

Bayer 04’s last five games

1-0 win vs. FC Augsburg (Matchday 17)
4-0 win vs. VfL Bochum (Matchday 16)
3-0 win vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (Matchday 15)
5-1 win vs. Molde FK (UEL group stage, matchday 6)

Key facts

The Werkself are, together with Bayern Munich, the strongest team in the Bundesliga on the break this season, scoring eight times so far from quick counter-attacks. RB Leipzig follow directly behind with seven goals from counters.
37 of Leverkusen’s 47 goals have come from open play. Leverkusen have drastically improved their play from set-pieces since last season, having scored ten from dead balls so far compared with 11 for the whole of last campaign.
Leverkusen finished the first half of the season on 45 points. This total has been achieved three times previously in the Bundesliga, on all three occasions by Pep Guardiola’s Bayern side between 2013 and 2016. Current Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso featured in the Bayern midfield in two of those seasons.

Statistics

Top goalscorer: Victor Boniface (10 goals)
Most assists: Victor Boniface (8 assists)
Most goal involvements: Victor Boniface (10 goals/ 8 assists)
Clean sheets: Lukas Hradecky (8x) with 12 conceded

Squad

Transfer market

Bayer Leverkusen are among the few Bundesliga teams who are yet to make any changes to their squad in the winter transfer window.

Key players

Alejandro Grimaldo was one of the most successful transfers of the summer transfer window. The Spaniard, snapped up from Benfica, has quickly become a key figure in the side. The 28-year-old has already contributed seven goals and seven assists from the left flank in the league this season.
Together with Dutchman Jeremie Frimpong, who has himself managed five goals and seven assists this season, Grimaldo has become part of a red-hot unit on the wings.
Granit Xhaka pulls the strings in the central midfield for Leverkusen, and is crucial in connecting the side’s defence and attack. After transferring from Arsenal in the summer, the Switzerland international immediately became Xabi Alonso’s right-hand man. Xhaka is a key member of the B04 squad thanks to both his footballing ability and his strong character.
Florian Wirtz is among the hottest prospects – not just for Leverkusen, but for German football as a whole. The 20-year-old possesses a rare creativity in his game matched by few other players. In attack, the playmaker can decide a crucial game through a single solo moment.
In the offensive line, Leverkusen depend more than ever on Patrik Schick. In the absence of the injured Victor Boniface, the Czech international will provide Leverkusen’s main attacking outlet for the second half of the season. In the last game before the winter break, he marked his long-awaited return from injury with a hat-trick, and will now be looking to build on his performances from the 2021/22 season, when he contributed 24 goals.

Absentees

In the first half of the season, the Werkself’s lineup remained largely constant, though three players from that eleven are currently unavailable for selection. Striker Victor Boniface will be unavailable until April with an adductor injury, while Edmond Tapsoba and Odilon Kossonou, who have both been mainstays in the Leverkusen back three of late, are away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Young right-back Arthur remains absent with a muscle injury which has kept him out for most of the season.
Click here for RBL’s squad update.

RBL’s record vs. Leverkusen

Head-to-head

7 wins, 4 draws, 4 losses; 24-21 aggregate score
4 wins at home, 3 away
Top goalscorer: Emil Forsberg (4)
Biggest victory: 3-0 in November 2018 (Poulsen 2x, Klostermann)

Last five meetings

19th August 2023 | Bundesliga Matchday 1: Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 RB Leipzig
23rd April 2023 | Bundesliga Matchday 29: Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 RB Leipzig
29th October 2022 | Bundesliga Matchday 12: RB Leipzig 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen
17th April 2022 | Bundesliga Matchday 30: Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 RB Leipzig
28th November 2021 | Bundesliga Matchday 13: RB Leipzig 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen

Head coach

Xabi Alonso has not amassed a vast wealth of experience as head coach since his appointment as Leverkusen manager in October 2022, with the former Spanish international’s only previous coaching roles coming at the C and B teams of Real Madrid and Real Sociedad respectively. In his short tenure as Leverkusen coach, he has nonetheless demonstrated that he is more than capable of holding his own as a manager.
Alonso took on the Leverkusen job with the side hovering just one place above the foot of the Bundesliga table, and led them to a seventh-place finish in his first season as well as the semi-finals of the Europa League. After a successful transfer window in the summer of 2023, the Werkself are well and truly contenders for Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga crown.

Former Real Madrid and Liverpool midfielder Alonso, who received plaudits as a player for his ball control and passing range, has passed on the qualities which made his own career a success onto his team. Bayer 04’s play under the 42-year-old has been extremely strong and they have dominated most of their games this season.
With only 12 goals conceded, Alonso’s Leverkusen have had the most success in defence over the first half of the Bundesliga season. With 52 goals, only FC Bayern have topped Leverkusen’s 47 goals scored in the current campaign so far.

Where will RB Leipzig vs. Bayer Leverkusen be shown?

The clash will be shown on Saturday at 18:30 CET on Sky.

Leipzig fans worldwide can follow the game and all the facts and stats surrounding it through our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.