Bayer Leverkusen vs Mainz Prediction: Leverkusen can continue march towards the title

Bayer Leverkusen can extend their advantage at the top of the Bundesliga to 11 points when they entertain struggling Mainz at BayArena on Friday night (19:30).

The yawning gap between Xabi Alonso's side and second-placed Bayern Munich already looks too much to close down, but Leverkusen must guard against complacency now.

Mainz won just their second Bundesliga match of the campaign last Saturday, but recently lost back-to-back road games against top-six contenders Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

Team News

Alonso is set to recall Edmond Tapsoba to his defence after swapping things around for the Heidenheim trip, while Odilon Kossounou could also be in line for his first appearance since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Midfielder Ezequiel Palacios, striker Victor Boniface and defender Arthur remain unavailable however.

As for Mainz, forward Nelson Weiper (knee) and defender Stefan Bell (illness) are unavailable again, while centre-back Andreas Hanche-Olsen is out with a thigh strain he sustained last weekend.

Midfielder Edmilson Fernandes (ankle), defender Maxim Leitsch (muscle) and forward Jonathan Burkardt (illness) are set to be assessed ahead of the game.

Match Odds

Leverkusen are the red-hot favourites at 1/5 to pick up yet another three points as they sprint toward the finish line in this season's Bundesliga title race.

Mainz are as big as 14/1 to pull off one of the shock results of the season with the draw at 11/2.

Both teams to score is available at 6/5, while it's 8/13 that at least one of the teams fails to find the net and 11/8 for over 3.5 goals to be scored in the game.

Bayer Leverkusen win and both teams to score @ 15/8

Alonso's side has not been a dominant force in Germany up until recently, but there is no reason to oppose Leverkusen at all right now.

This month's 3-0 dismantling of Bayern was a statement performance and it was quickly followed up by a solid 2-1 away win at Heidenheim - ending the hosts' eight-game unbeaten run.

They are very much in their stride now and look capable of scoring multiple goals every week, with Florian Wirtz supplying the ammunition to several potential goalscorers out wide or running through the channels.

However, they were undone by a set piece in the final few minutes at Heidenheim last week and could concede to a Mainz side that has found ways to score at Dortmund and Stuttgart this season.

Jeremie Frimpong to score anytime @ 23/10

Former Celtic player Jeremie Frimpong was the star of the Leverkusen show in last week's win at Heidenheim, firing home the opener just before half-time and going close to doubling up during the second half.

The right-sided star is closing in on Leverkusen's left wing-back Alex Grimaldo's tally of 10 goals in all competitions, as last weekend's strike was the Dutchman's seventh in the Bundesliga and ninth overall.

Although the deflected strike for the goal was his only effort on target, Frimpong took six shots in total last Saturday - the most he has attempted in a single game since his professional career began.

He is clearly full of confidence at the moment and will not be turning down opportunities to score for a third Bundesliga game in a row on Friday.