Bundesliga
How do Leverkusen and Eintracht stack up?
Xabi Alonso's defending Bundesliga champions host Eintracht Frankfurt in a game that sees the in-form visitors confident of creating an upset at the home of the mighty double winners. bundesliga.com takes a look at where the game might be won, or lost.
Leaky defence vs. counter-attack kings
Last season’s double winners have been working hard on the training ground as they seek to address the defensive lapses that have led to Bayer 04 having the worst defensive record of any side in the Bundesliga’s top 10 so far this term. Alonso’s men have shipped 12 goals in their six top-flight games to date and have yet to keep a clean sheet in the Bundesliga.
To put those number into perspective, Leverkusen conceded just 24 times in the entire 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign. Another worry for the Werkself is that they have given up leads on three occasions, including a couple when two goals in front.
Dino Topmöller and his eager, high-flying Eagles will have taken keen interest in all of the above. With their opponents at the BayArena on Saturday appearing particularly vulnerable to counter-attacks, the division’s specialists in this facet of play will look to make hay. Frankfurt boast the most goals from counters in the league (six), five of which have come from their deadly duo of Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitiké - more on them later.
After accusing his side of “defending too softly” in the 3-2 reverse against RB Leipzig on Matchday 2, Alonso knows this latest match-up will once again test the defensive levels of Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba, Piero Hincapié, and those immediately in front of them, to the limits. “This is a footballing issue, but also a question of mentality,” Alonso said recently. “We have to work on the tactical reasons, but also on mentality and concentration in order to improve the level.”
Midfield master vs. young pretender
When Alonso is putting together his matchday team, it is hard not to imagine Granit Xhaka being the first name on the list every time. The Swiss veteran started 32 of Bayer’s games in their Bundesliga title-winning run last term and he has unsurprisingly been ever present in 2024/25 so far. Through the 32-year-old, most things run in this team.
Watch: Granit Xhaka & Xabi Alonso - the special connection
A combative presence in terms of his ball-winning skills and ability to break up opposition attacks, Xhaka’s 48 tackles won and 409 intensive runs completed so far this season paint one picture. His 91 passes completed, 101 sprints, three assists and one goal to date tell another tale of a player who is equally valuable when on the front foot.
In 20-year-old Hugo Larsson, Eintracht have a midfield competitor who already looks just as an important asset to Topmöller’s plan. The former Malmö player, who arrived at the Deutsche Bank Park in time for the 2023/23 campaign, has impressed in his short time at Eintracht to such an extent that he was offered a contract extension in October. Mature beyond his years, Larsson is a box-to-box midfielder who excels in turning defence into attack while his tireless work rate mark him out as a constant irritant to opposition teams.
An outstanding performance – that included a goal – in a 5-1 win against Bayern Munich last season made the watching world sit up and take note of a player who completed that campaign with 29 Bundesliga appearances.
Watch: Hugo Larsson delights against Bayern last term
He has been ever-present for Die Adler across three competitions this term and while his tackles won (32) might trail Xhaka’s number, Larsson just about shades the Bayer man in terms of pass completions (91), while he has also scored one goal more than his opposite number. “I feel incredibly at home at the club and in the city, and have felt great trust from day one,” the Swede said after extending terms in Frankfurt as a player clearly flying in terms of morale at the moment.
Wing wizardry vs. flank flow
Few teams – if any – can match Leverkusen’s one-two punch power that Álex Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong represent. And if these two players are on song on Saturday, Eintracht will have their inbox full. A combined total of 43 goal involvements in the Bundesliga alone last season represented a jaw-dropping figure from a pair of forward-thinking full-backs who rarely relent in their pursuit of an opening.
In Ansgar Knauff and Farès Chaïbi, Frankfurt too can – and more than likely will - excite in wide areas. The latter’s quick-feet and 10 crosses so far in 2024/25 have been an important factor in Eintracht’s rise to third spot in the standings.
“I want to get more goals and assists and have more influence on the way we play,” the Algerian said earlier in the campaign. Meanwhile, Knauff’s two assists mark him out as one to watch at the BayArena. Still only 22, the former Borussia Dortmund youth more than proved his worth last term with seven goals and three assists as the Eagles edged into European competition.
Striking powerhouse vs. top marksman
There appears to be no stopping Marmoush this term, with the Egyptian on top of the goalscoring (eight), assists (four) and overall shots (27) charts this season. Ably assisted by teammate Ekitiké (two goals, two assists), the pairing are the fun-loving partnership that the Bundesliga can’t get enough of after six matchdays.
The first Eintracht player ever to score eight goals after the first six game in a season, Marmoush’s 12 goal involvements are also a top-flight best thus far. Indeed, thanks in large part to Marmoush and Ekitiké, Topmöller’s team have only needed five shots to muster a goal, a league-wide best in this category.
Watch: Omar Marmoush's rise to the top
A scorer of a double in the recent enthralling 3-3 draw against Bayern, Marmoush’s efforts have unsurprisingly drawn the praise of his coach. “He's in outstanding form at the moment and he's feeling comfortable. That's the key to his success these days,” Topmöller explained.
>>> A more in-depth look at Boniface vs. Marmoush
For Victor Boniface, Bayer’s four-goal striker this season, things might be that much more complicated without the team’s talismanic creator-in-chief Florian Wirtz, who is likely to be missing from this game with a knee injury.
Watch: Boniface on-song in Hoffenheim
Nevertheless, the prolific Nigerian scorer is more than capable of creating openings through his physical power and clever movement alone. Boniface hit 14 goals last term – and 21 in all competitions – in his maiden season at the BayArena following a move from Union Saint-Gilloise.
His 24 shots in six games this term (Boniface has also hit the woodwork once) show he is as hungry as ever to better last term’s admirable output and his presence up front will undoubtedly unsettle Eintracht, whose chances of winning could well lie in their ability to outscore Leverkusen in their own back yard.