A duel of opposites in the Bundesliga: The unbeaten leaders Bayer Leverkusen welcome the crisis club 1. FC Union Berlin on Sunday (3:30 p.m./DAZN).
Title ambitions against relegation worries, euphoria against a hangover mood, 16 games unbeaten against 13 games without a win: Bayer Leverkusen against Union Berlin is a duel of total opposites.
Is the crisis club from Köpenick bringing down the successful team from the Rhineland? Or will coach Xabi Alonso’s Werkself take the Bundesliga start record?
“31 out of 33 points would be incredible,” said Alonso before the game on Sunday (3:30 p.m./DAZN), with which the Spaniard can set his own record as a Bayern Munich player under world coach Pep Guardiola from the 2015/16 season.
Bayer Leverkusen: Starting record for Alonso “not the most important thing”
However, the record is “not the most important thing”, but rather just the “consequence of good work” and “not an issue” for his team. “We should just concentrate on the game against Union,” warned Alonso.
The Berliners had at least gained some self-confidence during the week and, after the horror series of twelve competitive defeats in a row, secured their historic first point in the Champions League with a respectable 1-1 draw at the Italian champions SSC Napoli.
“Of course Leverkusen is an amazing team at the moment,” said Union captain Christopher Trimmel about Bayer, “but so is Naples. So we will go there with more confidence.”
The situation with the guests was “not normal,” said Alonso, who and his team secured early knockout place in the Europa League on Thursday with a last-minute win at Qarabag Agdam (1-0). “There were a lot of games in which they didn’t deserve to lose.”
Leverkusen coach Alonso warns against Union Berlin
Union is “still a very strong team, they don’t allow many shots on goal,” said Alonso. But the bitter reality for the guests is currently their own poor finishing: coach Urs Fischer’s team has been goalless for 329 league minutes, and the club’s negative record is 359 minutes (spring 2023).
The Berliners are likely to see chances on Sunday especially in standard situations: Fischer’s team scored nine of the eleven goals this season after a dead ball, and Leverkusen conceded half of their ten goals. In addition, two central pillars at Bayer, Edmond Tapsoba (hand surgery) and possibly Exequiel Palacios (knee problems), are also out.
Almost exactly a year ago, on November 6, 2022, Union traveled as league leaders to third-from-bottom Leverkusen and lost 5-0. Union is now third from bottom and Leverkusen is top of the table. Upside down world, but a similar scenario is difficult to imagine.
The works club is in full flow. Eleven competitive game wins in a row: club record. Unbeaten in 16 games: club record. 30 goals after ten league games: club record. And the next record is already waiting – but Union is lurking as a spoilsport.