Preview: Arminia Bielefeld vs. Bayer Leverkusen - prediction, team news, lineups

Winless Arminia Bielefeld welcome high-flying Bayer Leverkusen to the Schuco-Arena in Bundesliga action on Sunday.

The hosts' struggles to find the net have resulted in a number of draws in the early stages of the new campaign, whilst the visitors have enjoyed a bright start under their new manager.

Match preview

© Reuters

Just the three goals scored in the opening six matches have seen Bielefeld slip to 16th in the table heading into Sunday's fixture, despite losing just two of these openers.

After finishing just one place and two points above the relegation playoff place last season, in a campaign where his side scored just 26 league goals, manager Frank Kramer will have cause for concern this time around with the goalscoring troubles continuing.

However, conceding just six in league action so far this season means Kramer has built a solid foundation as a good starting point, and one that has resulted in dull draws in four of their outings.

The latest of these tight affairs saw Die Arminen fall 1-0 at Union Berlin last weekend, although it would have been yet another draw were it not for a late winner for the hosts.

The struggles in the final third continued, though, with Bielefeld lacking much threat in the attacking third of the pitch yet again.

© Reuters

As for the visitors, spirits are much higher in their camp after a successful start under new manager Gerardo Seoane has seen Leverkusen climb to second place in the table in these early stages.

Four wins from the opening six, and 16 goals scored in the process, means the new man has brought the entertainment factor to Die Werkself, with teenage star Florian Wirtz at the centre of the early success.

The 18-year-old German midfielder has already notched up four goals and four assists from his five appearances, in a system built around his talents that sees Leverkusen press high and break quickly with devastating consequences for their opponents.

Last weekend saw Seoane's men edge out fellow high flyers Mainz 05 at the BayArena by a 1-0 scoreline, with their stubborn visitors providing a stern test, but despite not providing free-flowing action similar to prior fixtures, they still managed to come through thanks to Wirtz's quality again.

Most recently, Leverkusen followed that up with a resounding victory in Europa League action in midweek, when Celtic were defeated 4-0 on Thursday after goals from Piero Hincapie, Wirtz, Lucas Alario and Amine Adli at Celtic Park.

After losing to Sunday's opponents in their last meeting back in March, the visitors will be out for revenge when they do battle at the Schuco-Arena.

Team News

© Reuters

The hosts remain without one long-term absentee when they welcome Leverkusen on Sunday, with midfielder Sebastian Vasiliadis still on the sidelines with an ankle injury since the end of last season.

Fellow midfielders Lennart Czyborra and Edimilson Fernandes have also been listed as doubts due to a hip injury and illness respectively.

Manager Kramer may look to rotate his forward line once more in the search for the goal-scoring formula at last.

Meanwhile, the visitors look set to be without a number of players for this weekend, including the suspended Robert Andrich after he saw red against Stuttgart two matches ago.

Julian Baumgartlinger, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Exequiel Palacios and Edmond Tapsoba have all been missing for a while for manager Seoane, so the Swiss man is unlikely to make many changes during this strong run of form.

Summer recruit Odilon Kossounou had formed a formidable partnership with Jonathan Tah in central defence but the former could be set to miss out due to a thigh problem.

Arminia Bielefeld possible starting lineup:

Ortega; Brunner, Pieper, Nilsson, Laursen; Okugawa, Prietl, Schopf, Hack; Wimmer, Klos

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Frimpong, Tah, Hincapie, Bakker; Aranguiz, Demirbay; Diaby, Wirtz, Paulinho; Schick

We say: Arminia Bielefeld 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen should continue their fine form against struggling Bielefeld here. A couple of goals should be enough to see off their goal-shy hosts, who have failed to score more than once in a game this season so far.