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

Wolfsburg will be looking to return to winning ways when they host Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Leverkusen, meanwhile, headed into the international break top of the table after claiming 19 points from their opening seven games.

Match preview

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Wolfsburg have not quite managed to find their forthcoming opponents' level of consistency, with their last six league matches reading: win, loss, win, loss, win, loss.

Those three defeats all came away from home, with their most recent two victories coming at the Volkswagen Arena, suggesting that head coach Niko Kovac has a job on his hands to help the Wolves possess a more deadly bite on their travels.

They became the latest victim to in-form Stuttgart in their last match, with Guinea forward Serhou Guirassy scoring his second hat-trick of the season already to move onto 13 goals in seven games. Yannick Gerhardt had provided Wolfsburg with a half-time lead before Guirassy dominated after the break.

Kovac's side's recent away day blues will not apply to their upcoming match this weekend, of course, but Leverkusen have more than enough form and talent on their side to make it feel like another away game for the hosts.

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Indeed, Leverkusen were the only side to accrue more points than Stuttgart across the opening seven games, meaning that Xabi Alonso's side propped up the rest of the table heading into the international break.

They will be determined to ensure that remains the case for another matchday by securing a fourth successive victory on Saturday, with only reigning champions Bayern Munich preventing them from claiming all three points so far this season.

Despite losing their star man Moussa Diaby to Premier League side Aston Villa during the summer transfer window, Die Werkself always felt likely to enjoy an excellent season after making superb progress under Alonso following his appointment as manager in early October 2022.

The former Real Madrid and Liverpool midfielder inherited a difficult situation with Leverkusen surprisingly sitting in the relegation zone, but two excellent spells of form proved enough for them to climb all the way up to sixth in the table, ensuring that they qualified for the Europa League.

Hacken and Molde have both been swept aside in that competition in Leverkusen's two group games so far, with Alonso likely to be targeting lifting that competition for the second time in the club's history. However, his primary focus will be on challenging for their first ever Bundesliga triumph after making a hugely encouraging start.

Team News

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Wolfsburg will remain without Kilian Fischer and Lukas Nmecha, who have both undergone knee surgery, while Koen Casteels, Moritz Jenz and Rogerio are all unlikely to feature this weekend.

However, Maxence Lacroix should shake off a recent bout of illness in order to start within the hosts' defence, while the likes of Patrick Wimmer and Vaclav Cerny will both be pushing for starts.

Leverkusen, meanwhile, will travel without full-back Arthur due to a thigh injury, while Timothy Fosu-Mensah is unlikely to be risked due to an ongoing knee issue.

Providing that Exequiel Palacios is passed fit after suffering with a fever during the international break, Alonso is unlikely to make any changes from the team which comfortably dispatched FC Koln in their last game, with Victor Boniface hoping to add to his growing goalscoring tally.

Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:

Pervan; Baku, Lacroix, Zesiger, Maehle; Svanberg, Arnold; Majer, Gerhardt, Wimmer; Wind

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Boniface

We say: Wolfsburg 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Wolfsburg's form has been inconsistent so far this season, but they have performed much better on home soil, suggesting that they can give Leverkusen a run for their money on Saturday.

However, Alonso's side look to be a cut above their forthcoming opponents, and we can envisage them winning a sixth straight game in all competitions.

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