Bayer Leverkusen vs Fortuna Dusseldorf Prediction: Hosts to waltz into final

Bayer Leverkusen entertain Fortuna Dusseldorf at the BayArena on Wednesday night (19:45) for the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal. Xabi Alonso's side are the strongest team left in the competition and it looks like they could be in line for a domestic double this year alongside the Bundesliga title.

The hosts' incredible unbeaten run has now stretched to 39 matches in all competitions, which is a record in Germany. They will be eager to reach the 40-game mark with a victory in this semi-final tie. Here are our Bayer Leverkusen vs Fortuna Dusseldorf predictions, featuring team news and match odds.

Match Odds

Leverkusen are the overwhelming favourites to win this game inside 90 minutes at 1/8, or a 88.9% probability. Fortuna Dusseldorf are 12/1 to bring the hosts' formidable unbeaten run to an end, giving them just a 7.7% chance. The draw can be backed at 6/1 (14.3%).

Both teams to score is available at 11/10 and over 2.5 goals is 4/11.

Team News

Alonso's side may be expected to go on and lift the trophy from this position but they will have to get through the semi-final without top scorer and star striker Victor Boniface, who is out injured. He is joined by Arthur and Ezequiel Palacios in the treatment room.

This means that Czech Republic international Patrik Schick will most likely lead the line on Wednesday night, looking to carry on his impressive scoring run of late. His goals in recent weeks have been crucial in maintaining and continuing Leverkusen's unbeaten run.

The visitors are without some key players of their own as Nicolas Gavory, Daniel Bunk are ruled out until later this month. However, they could welcome back Marcel Sobottka and Takashi Uchino for this one.

Bayer Leverkusen to win both halves @ EVS

The hosts are by far the strongest team still in this competition. Their opponents are from the 2. Bundesliga, as are Fortuna Dusseldorf from the other semi-final. And their opponents, FC Kaiserslautern, are from the third tier.

Alonso and his players will see this as an excellent opportunity to try and secure another piece of silverware, as it looks likely they will win the league now that they have a 13-point lead over Bayern Munich with seven games left to play.

They have been brilliant all season and there is so much quality within their ranks that even though top scorer Boniface is out of action, his absence isn't devastating as the likes of Schick have been filling in to excellent effect.

Leverkusen should have far too much quality for the visitors here with the likes of Schick, Florian Wirtz, Alex Grimaldo, Granit Xhaka and Jonas Hofmann to name a few. Winning this match should be routine for them and it should be comfortable, so we fancy them to come out on top in both halves to waltz their way into the DFB-Pokal final.

Patrik Schick to score anytime @ 8/11

The Czech international has mustered 11 goals in 21 appearances across all competitions this term. His best return has been five from as many matches in the Europa League. As mentioned above, his goals in recent weeks have been vital in keeping Leverkusen's unbeaten run going and he will look to keep doing his bit in Boniface's absence.

He is likely to lead the line for this semi-final and he will be wanting to showcase his talent so that when Boniface does return from injury, he isn't guaranteed his spot back. Schick is a tidy operator up front and with the form that he has been in recently, we think that he will play a huge role in Wednesday's clash and thus fancy him to get on the scoresheet.