Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to make it six straight wins in all competitions when they welcome Wolfsburg to the BayArena in the Bundesliga on Tuesday night.
Peter Bosz's side have been victorious in their last three in the league to rise into fourth position in the table, while Wolfsburg occupy sixth spot with 39 points to show from their 27 matches.
Match preview
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Leverkusen have been in impressive form since the Bundesliga resumed earlier this month, recording back-to-back away victories over Werder Bremen and Borussia Monchengladbach, scoring seven times in the process.
There has been a lot of attention on 20-year-old Kai Havertz in recent months, and the attacker has scored four times in his side's last two league matches, wearing the captain's armband on both occasions.
Leverkusen have actually won six of their last seven matches in Germany's top flight, while they have suffered just one defeat in 2020 to move themselves into the top four at this stage of the campaign.
RB Leipzig moved above them with a 5-0 success at Mainz 05 on Sunday afternoon, but Bosz's team are still in the top four, one point clear of fifth-placed Gladbach on the same number of matches.
Die Werkself have only lost one of their last eight league meetings with Wolfsburg, meanwhile, recording five wins in the process, which will surely fill their fans with confidence ahead of Tuesday night's affair.
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Wolfsburg, meanwhile, also have a European battle on their hands this season as they occupy sixth position, two points clear of seventh-placed Freiburg on the same number of games (27).
There is a 13-point gap from Wolfsburg to Gladbach in fifth, but Oliver Glasner's team are currently the best of the rest, ahead of the likes of Freiburg, Schalke 04 and Hoffenheim, in the battle for a Europa League spot.
The Wolves recorded a 2-1 victory over Augsburg on their return to Bundesliga action on May 16, but they suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday afternoon.
A trip to an in-form Leverkusen is not quite what Glasner's side would have had in mind as they attempt to return to winning ways, but they have impressively picked up 10 points from their last four away games in the Bundesliga during a strong run of form.
Leverkusen Bundesliga form: WWDWWW
Leverkusen form (all competitions): DWWWWW
Wolfsburg Bundesliga form: WWDDWL
Wolfsburg form (all competitions): WDDLWL
Team News
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Lars Bender and Kevin Volland are both expected to miss out for Leverkusen once again, while Jonathan Tah remains a doubt due to a back problem.
Bosz's side did not pick up any fresh concerns against Gladbach at the weekend, but there are expected to be changes for Tuesday's clash, with Wendell and Nadiem Amiri potentially coming into the XI.
Havertz should again operate at the tip of the attack with support from Karim Bellarabi and Moussa Diaby, though, while there are unlikely to be alterations in the middle of the park.
As for Wolfsburg, Felix Klaus is suspended after his red card against Dortmund, while Mamoudou Karamoko, Yannick Gerhardt, Joshua Guilavogui, William and Ignacio Camacho are all on the sidelines through injury.
Josip Brekalo came off the bench against Dortmund at the weekend and is being tipped to earn a spot in the XI, but Wout Weghorst is again expected to lead the away side's line.
Renato Steffen and Admir Mehmedi should also keep their spot in the Wolfsburg XI.
Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Weiser, S. Bender, Tapsoba, Wendell; Aranguiz, Demirbay; Bellarabi, Amiri, Diaby; Havertz
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Mbabu, Pongracic, Brooks, Roussillon; Schlager, Arnold; Steffen, Mehmedi, Brekalo; Weghorst
We say: Leverkusen 2-0 Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg have only lost one of their last eight Bundesliga matches and as mentioned, have been impressive on their travels in recent games. Leverkusen, though, have developed into a very good outfit, and we fancy the home side to pick up another three points here in relatively routine fashion.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bayer Leverkusen win with a probability of 58.21%. A draw had a probability of 21.5% and a win for Wolfsburg had a probability of 20.27%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayer Leverkusen win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.92%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.23%) and 2-0 (9.15%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.01%), while for a Wolfsburg win it was 1-2 (5.43%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 0.5% likelihood.
