Bayer Leverkusen take on the visitors Arsenal in the first leg of UEFA Champions League round of 1/8-finals. The match will be played on Wednesday, March 11th at BayArena (Leverkusen).
Bayer Leverkusen produced a historic record with the Spaniard and achieved something truly unique, going unbeaten on the domestic stage the season before last, which brought them a golden double. In the following campaign they finished behind Bayern Munich, after which the former midfielder left to coach Real Madrid, where he had enjoyed a long and successful playing career. Recently, however, Leverkusen have been more inconsistent, occasionally dropping points in matches where they previously looked very confident. At the same time, their home performances remain strong, and the team still manages to collect important results against direct competitors. He was replaced by Ten Hag, but the Dutchman did not even last until autumn. Hjulmand, who has now been working for about half a year, has not yet managed to secure a stable place in the top four with his side. Still, in the cup they have already reached the semi-finals (although they will face Bayern Munich there). And in the Champions League the Germans once again did not embarrass themselves. Yes, there were setbacks, including the anti-record 2–7 defeat to PSG. But after finally winning in the fourth round, the Leverkusen club collected three victories and 12 points to reach the playoffs. And already there they calmly beat Olympiacos, thanks to a 2–0 away win — even though only in January they had lost to them with the mirror score.
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Arsenal are currently the record holders and the main favorites of the tournament. The Gunners have perfect results so far. They are the only team that won all 8 matches of the main round. Recently they have also maintained impressive momentum across competitions, regularly collecting victories and showing a very stable level of play. Even when matches become difficult, Arsenal usually find a way to secure the result, which further strengthens their reputation as one of the strongest sides in Europe this season. Among those victories was also a win over their old rival and traditionally uncomfortable opponent in European competition, Bayern Munich. At the same time Arteta’s side reached the final of the League Cup. There they will face Manchester City, with whom they are also competing in the Premier League. For a long time they managed to keep The Citizens, and even more so the rest of the field, behind them, but a series of slip-ups — including a 2–2 draw with the league’s main outsider Wolverhampton Wanderers — erased that comfortable advantage. So now they cannot focus only on the European competition — at home they need nothing less than perfect results.
The clubs already met in the Champions League in 2002. Back then the Red and Whites, after a draw in Germany, comfortably won at home. The visitors from London are of higher class and more consistent. The pick here is a victory for Arsenal.
Prediction for the match: Arsenal to win.
