“It’s better to compete against the best”

Sebastian Hoeneß’s charges have already faced Leverkusen – now undefeated in 45 competitive matches this season – twice in 2023/24.

On both occasions, spectators were treated to exciting and high-quality games. The first of those, on Bundesliga Matchday 14, ended in a 1-1 draw at the MHP Arena; in the second, VfB twice held the lead in the DFB Cup quarter-final in Leverkusen, only to concede a last-minute goal in a 3-2 defeat.

“Both games were top-class,” said captain Waldemar Anton, who opened the scoring in that cup fixture. “Both could have gone either way.”

The VfB skipper has played more Bundesliga minutes (2,528) than any of his team-mates this term. “It’s always better to compete against the very best,” he said. “We’ll push ourselves to the limit in training and will try to produce a top-class display in Leverkusen on Saturday.”

In order to do so, VfB will need to up their game compared to the 2-1 defeat in Bremen last weekend. “It’s important that we get the basics right out on the pitch,” Anton said. “That’s what we were lacking in Bremen, and it’s something that shouldn’t happen. We’ve analysed that game and drawn a line under it.”

As such, the players are all aware what they need to do in order to compete in Leverkusen. If they do, then perhaps they can balance the scale against the champions, following one draw and one defeat against them this season.