Bayer Leverkusen vs Stuttgart Prediction: Hosts to come out on top

Bayer Leverkusen welcome VfB Stuttgart to the BayArena on Friday (19:30, Sky Sports Mix) looking to start finding a winning rhythm as they have failed to post back-to-back victories in over a month. They are unbeaten in their last six, though, which will give them confidence.

Stuttgart are eighth in the table and looking to string more wins together of their own, but they will find this task difficult at the home of the reigning champions. Read on for my Bayer Leverkusen vs Stuttgart prediction, featuring match odds and team news.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Stuttgart Odds

Bayer Leverkusen are 8/15, or a 65.2% chance, to win this match. Stuttgart are priced at 9/2 to take the three points, giving them an implied probability of 18.2%. The draw is available at 18/5 (21.7%).

Over 2.5 goals is marketed at 4/11 and both teams to score can be backed at 4/9.

Victor Boniface has scored six league goals this season for Leverkusen, and he is 9/2 to open the scoring, or 21/20 to score anytime on Friday.

Stuttgart duo Emerin Demirovic and Deniz Undav have scored five Bundesliga goals each, and they are both 2/1 to find the back of the net at any stage during this contest.

Football Odds

Team News

Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso will be unable to call upon the services of attacker Amine Adli, who suffered a broken leg against Brest in the Champions League last week.

He will be sidelined for several months, which comes as a huge blow to him and his team. In Leverkusen's 3-0 win over Elvesborg in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday, Patrik Schick scored a brace, so he might have played his way into contention for Friday.

It will be a challenge for him to depose their top scorer Boniface, however, who Alonso is likely to favour for this crunch league clash, having scored in the last three Bundesliga clashes.

Schick was deployed alongside Jonas Hoffman in that game, and he too is another who will be seeking more minutes in the league. Summer acquisition Aleix Garcia was the other scorer, and he will be hoping for an opportunity against Stuttgart.

Florian Wirtz and Martin Terrier should support Boniface in attack, although former Burnley man Nathan Tella will be driven to force his way back in the side, amidst reports of him becoming unhappy with his lack of game time this season.

Granit Xhaka and Robert Andrich should anchor the midfield as usual, with Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong supporting as the wing-backs.

For Stuttgart, defender Dan-Axel Zagadou is ruled out through injury until February, while this could be a game too soon for Luca Raimund to return to action. Leonidas Stergiou and Justin Diehl remain doubts for the visitors.

Demirovic and Undav should continue to lead the line for Die Roten.

Bayer Leverkusen & both teams to score @ 6/4

They may not have as many wins as they would like but Leverkusen have lost just once this campaign, and it surprisingly came on home soil at the hands of RB Leipzig.

I can't see them losing too many more games at home this season, and certainly not against Friday's visitors, who have lost two of their three matches this term in which they have faced top-half opposition.

Leverkusen have won two of their last three league matches at the BayArena, and it's three in four when you include their midweek cup triumph. Stuttgart are waiting to click into gear, and it's going to be tough trying to live up to the standards of last season - the same goes for Leverkusen.

The Champions League schedule will have an impact on the players this year and you could argue that we are seeing this already from both sides. Leverkusen have mustered better momentum in the league with their run of six games unbeaten, and this should aid them claim another valuable three points in the race for the title.

Alonso and his players are five points off the pace already and they cannot afford the gap to widen any further between them and Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig. So I'm going to back them to win this clash, but I'll boost the odds by adding both teams to score.

This is because both teams to score has been a winning selection in all of Leverkusen's matches in the Bundesliga so far, so I think we will see this trend continue on Friday night.

Bet Builder - Victor Boniface & Deniz Undav to score anytime @ 4/1

These two strikers can be depended on regularly to deliver the goods for their teams and that is why I think 4/1 offers good value for them both to strike on Friday. Boniface is on a scoring streak of three matches, and he also has six in his last six outings.

He's full of confidence heading into this match, and he is about to face a team who have been unable to shut out their opponents in their last eight Bundesliga matches.

Undav was brilliant for Stuttgart last year as he helped them return to the Champions League, and he has started this campaign well, even if his team are yet to hit the heights of last season. He ended a two-game drought last weekend to score against strugglers Holstein Kiel, so that should give him the boost he needs to strike against the defending champions.

He won't be fazed by big matches after netting at the Santiago Bernabeu against European powerhouse Real Madrid back in September.

Offers

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