Bundesliga – Match Preview: VFB Stuttgart versus Bayern Leverkusen
Stuttgart take on Bayer Leverkusen in their sixth league match of the season. An encounter that holds promise for both sides, and is thus expected to be a feisty one as the lost giants of the German club football realm look to make
their mark on the 2010-2011 Bundesliga season. A few years ago, Bayer Leverkusen were really a force to be reckoned with. Doing well in the German league, giving Bayern Munich a run for their money and competing against the likes of Manchester United in the
UEFA Champions League, Bayer have since then drifted away into obscurity.
In the last years, Bundesliga campaign Bayer Leverkusen impressed again and finished at the fourth placed spot, a spot which would have been good enough to quality for the UEFA Champions League in other league competitions in Europe
but since German league’s rating is not that favourable with the UEFA rankings, Bayer had to be content with a Europa League place. At the start of the 2000’s, Bayer parted ways with their star midfielders such as Michael Ballack and Ze Roberto.
Both the German and the Brazilian playmaker joined Bayern Munich and since then Leverkusen have struggled to replace them. In the summer transfer window of 2010, Bayer resigned Michael Ballack from Chelsea F.C in the English Premier
League and so far in the 2010-2011 season, the German captain has performed remarkably well for his childhood club.
Leverkusen’s start to the season has been above average but bordering on mediocre by their own standards as they have drawn two, lost one and won two games. They have a goal difference of zero at the moment as they have scored nine
but also conceded nine goals in their five matches thus far in the German football league. In their first league match against Borussia Dortmund, Leverkusen gave a good defensive display and ran out as eventual winners by two goals to nil.
Borussia Monchengladbach faced Bayer in their second match of the Bundesliga season and this was unfortunately a terrible performance by the former German champions as they conceded six goals and scored three in reply, in doing so
they lost the match by a three goal difference. However, their third match of the season was different story as Bayer had the attacking ability to score two against Hannover but lacked the defensive discipline to keep their opponents out, the match ended at
a score line of two all.
Bayer Leverkusen won their latest match in the Bundesliga as they defeated Frankfurt by two goals to one, it was Leverkusen’s second victory of the season and when they face Stuttgart, they will be striving to make it two wins in
a row. For Stuttgart, the 2010-2011 season has been nothing short of a disaster, they lost their first league match to Mainz, who currently lead the Bundesliga table by two goals to nil. In their second match they ended up as second best to Borussia Dortmund
who piled three goals past Stuttgart’s defence while only conceding a single one in reply.
VFB’s third match was another disappointing one for their fans as they lost to Freiburg by a single goal as the match ended 2-1. Borussia Monchengladbach faced Stuttgart in their fourth match and this time, Stuttgart made Monchengladbach
the target of all their frustrations as their impeccable attack scored seven goals past the German minnows as the match finished at the score line of 7-0. In their last match in the Bundesliga, Stuttgart were unsatisfactory again as they lost to Nurnberg F.C
by a margin of one goal as the game ended at the score line of 2-1.
Stuttgart will be banking on their German international team striker, Cacau to bag one or two goals against a fragile Bayer defence but they will also be wary of the fact that their own weak defence is susceptible to being torn apart
on the counter attack. The fact that the match is being held at Stuttgart’s home stadium makes them the favourites but given their volatile form this season, Bayer do hold a chance to at least come away with a draw from this encounter.
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