Preview:Bayer Leverkusen vs. PSV Eindhoven - prediction, team news, lineups

Both winless after matchday one of the Champions League, Bayer Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven tussle at the BayArena on Wednesday in their first European meeting in three decades.

The Bundesliga giants remain unbeaten under new boss Kasper Hjulmand, which puts them in a strong position as they aim to extend their seven-match unbeaten run against Dutch opponents; meanwhile, PSV enter matchday two aiming to break their 48-year away winless drought against German clubs.

Match preview

Leverkusen's recovery after Erik ten Hag's brief tenure continued with a hard-fought victory over St. Pauli at the weekend, extending their unbeaten run since Hjulmand's appointment.

While Die Werkself have yet to keep a clean sheet since their 4-0 DFB Pokal win over Grossaspach in mid-August, supporters with an optimistic outlook will point to their team's ongoing unbeaten streak since their gameweek one defeat by Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga last month.

By defeating St. Pauli, they enter Wednesday's continental match against PSV having not lost in five games, winning three of those, although they settled for a 2-2 draw with Copenhagen a fortnight ago.

Die Schwarzroten, who have never lost to a Dutch side in seven encounters, securing four wins and drawing three, including two matches against this week's opponent, when they beat Eindhoven in Germany and drew in the Netherlands 31 years prior.

Having won their most recent fixture against a Dutch team — a 4-0 victory over Feyenoord in Rotterdam 12 months ago — Leverkusen, who have lost only two of their last 11 group-stage or league-phase Champions League matches, aim to avoid a third failure at this stage on Wednesday.

Seeking to inflict a first defeat on Hjulmand's Leverkusen, PSV must recover from their shock 3-1 loss to Union Saint-Gilloise in Eindhoven, where they conceded three times before Ruben van Bommel scored a late consolation.

That defeat by the Belgian club on the opening matchday marked consecutive home defeats for Peter Bosz’s team across all competitions.

The Peasants returned to winning ways in the Eredivisie with a 2-1 victory at SBV Excelsior on Saturday, securing their eighth consecutive away win, a record that dates back to last season.

Unbeaten on their travels across all competitions since a loss to Go Ahead Eagles in March, PSV's ongoing unbeaten run on the road also includes a 2-2 Champions League draw at Arsenal six months ago; however, it would be remiss to mention that result without considering the context of their 7- 1 first-leg defeat in Eindhoven in the round of 16.

Since that disappointment, Bosz's team have now lost two of their past three Champions League matches, and the historical record against German clubs offers little hope.

The Dutch giants have suffered 14 defeats and drawn three matches against German teams since they beat Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1 in a UEFA Cup fixture in December 1977- a 17-match streak they aim to break this week.

This makes for a potentially intriguing encounter with Leverkusen, who are known to concede goals; but so are PSV, whose all-or-nothing approach under Bosz is expected to persist at the BayArena.

Bayer Leverkusen Champions League form:

Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):

PSV Eindhoven Champions League form:

PSV Eindhoven form (all competitions):

Team News

Leverkusen captain Robert Andrich (groin) is unlikely to feature after coming off injured at half-time on Saturday, while Patrik Schick was replaced near the end with a suspected hamstring injury.

As a result, both players could join Exequiel Palacios (groin injury, also ineligible), Martin Terrier (Achilles) and Nathan Tella (knee) on the sidelines.

Malik Tillman has scored two Bundesliga goals since moving to Leverkusen from PSV in the summer, and the American will hope to face old friends on Wednesday.

Expected to feature for the German hosts is Alex Grimaldo, who scored in matchday one's draw at Copenhagen, and has netted twice and assisted once across five Bundesliga appearances this season.

Van Bommel scored PSV's only goal on matchday one, but the forward has since suffered a serious knee injury that could keep him out for the rest of the season.

As a consequence, the Peasants' star will miss Wednesday's game, along with Alassane Plea (knee), Myron Boadu (hamstring), Kiliann Sildillia (thigh) and possibly Sergino Dest, who will be assessed before the midweek fixture.

Further potential absentees are Ricardo Pepi, replaced by Guus Til after 32 minutes against Excelsior due to injury, and left-back Anass Salah-Eddine, who went off with a suspected injury in the 85th minute of the same match.

While Ivan Perisic could not add to his six goal contributions at the weekend, Joey Veerman notched his sixth in the win (three goals, three assists), and the midfielder seeks his seventh involvement this season at the BayArena.

Matej Kovar should start between the sticks against his parent club, even though he is on a season-long loan from the Bundesliga outfit.

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Flekken; Quansah, Bade, Tapsoba; Tape-Kobrissa, Garcia, Fernandez, Grimaldo; Tilman, Ben Seghir; Kofane

PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:

Kovar; Junior, Flamingo, Gasiorowski, Obispo; Schouten, Saibari, Veerman; Wanner, Til, Perisic

We say: Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 PSV Eindhoven

With Leverkusen struggling to keep clean sheets and PSV favouring an aggressive approach under Bosz, both sides are likely to find the net on Wednesday.

Although the teams are missing key match-winning talent, Leverkusen are backed to extend their unbeaten run against Dutch opponents to eight, thereby continuing PSV’s 48-year wait for away success against German clubs.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.