Arminia Bielefeld vs Bayer Leverkusen Prediction: Big-hitters to prevail despite brave fight from hosts

Reigning DFB-Pokal champions Bayer Leverkusen are one game away from back-to-back finals in the competition, with third-tier side Arminia Bielefeld providing the opposition in the semi-finals.

Below are my Arminia Bielefeld vs Bayer Leverkusen predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this final-four tie at Schuco Arena on Tuesday (19:45, Premier Sports 2).

Team News

Latvian forward Robert Uldrikis (knee) misses out for Arminia through injury. The 26-year-old, who joined the club in January from Greek club Athens Kallithea, has missed his side's last five games and won't be back fit for the visit of Leverkusen.

Moroccan midfielder Nassim Boujellab is also doubtful after being substituted just six minutes after coming on in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Hannover II in Bundesliga 3.

Football Odds

Merveille Biankadi, Noah Sarenren Bazee and Isaiah Young were all sent on in the 62nd minute at Schuco Arena, and all three will hope to have worked their way into Michel Kniat's starting XI on Tuesday.

Julian Kania opened the scoring from the penalty spot against Hannover II and, with 12 Bundesliga 3 goals, has netted at least double the amount of any other Arminia player this season. The 23-year-old was also on target from 12 yards in his side's 3-1 victory over Freiburg in the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal.

Leverkusen are missing a trio of defenders - Mario Hermoso (thigh), Edmond Tapsoba (muscle) and Jeanuel Belocian (knee) - and potentially three forwards - Martin Terrier (Achilles), Florian Wirtz (ankle) and Nathan Tella (muscle) - due to injury. Terrier and Tella are both unavailable for Xabi Alonso's charges, but there is still some hope that star man Wirtz can recover in time for the trip to Bielefeld.

Alonso deployed a 3-5-2 formation in last Friday's 3-1 Bundesliga win over VFL Bochum, pairing Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick in attack.

The 2023/24 DFB-Pokal Golden Boot winner, Amine Adli, scored off the bench in that victory and could earn a start on Tuesday. Robert Andrich and Aston Villa loanee Emiliano Buendia are also pushing for starts, while Czech Republic goalkeeper Matej Kovar is expected to get the nod ahead of club captain Lukas Hradecky after playing his side's first four domestic cup ties this season.

Arminia Bielefeld vs Bayer Leverkusen Odds

Situated two divisions below the 2023/24 Bundesliga winners, Arminia are huge underdogs to triumph inside regulation time on Tuesday, with odds of 14/1 implying a 6.7% chance of success. They're 7/1 just to win the tie by any means, while you can back Leverkusen at 2/11 to do the business without the need for extra time and/or penalties.

The draw, which would send the tie to another 30 minutes of action, is priced at 11/10, and over 2.5 total goals is available at 1/2.

Schick (4/5) heads the anytime goalscorer market ahead of strike partner Boniface (5/6), with Kania (4/1) first up for the visitors.

Anytime Goalscorer - Amine Adli (LEV) @ 15/8

Adli struck 10 times for Leverkusen last season as they won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, netting four times in the former competition and five times in the domestic cup, where he ended up as the highest scorer. He also notched one in the Uefa Europa League as the German side advanced to the final, where they lost 3-0 to Atalanta.

Things haven't gone as well for club or player this season, and heading into last Friday's match against Bochum, Adli had scored just once in 20 appearances.

He doubled his tally for the campaign in that win, though, netting the fourth and final goal of the game to wrap up all three points for Leverkusen.

That's now two goals in eight outings since returning from a long-term injury, and Adli will be eyeing up a start on Tuesday to help him build on the momentum he has.

Against a third-tier side, Adli looks a nice price to get on the scoresheet in a competition that served him so well last season, particularly if he's handed a start by Alonso.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Bayer Leverkusen & Yes @ 9/5

There is a gulf in quality between these sides, and it would be a huge shock if Leverkusen weren't able to do the business inside regulation time.

Bayern Munich knocked Die Werkself out of the Uefa Champions League in the last 16 last month, and Vincent Kompany's side are also six points clear of Alonso's men - with a superior goal difference - in the race for the Bundesliga title. Just seven rounds of fixtures remain and the chances of Leverkusen retaining their title are slim, to say the least.

The DFB-Pokal, then, takes on added significance, as it's the only competition left that they can realistically win.

That spells bad news for Arminia, whose main focus is on securing promotion to the second tier. At the time of writing, the Bielefeld club are fourth, five points behind Energie Cottbus, who occupy the second and final automatic promotion spot. The cup is a nice distraction from the pressures of the league, and they are so close to the final, but they will be aware that the odds are against them against Leverkusen, and the most important thing is to get into Bundesliga 2.

Leverkusen should be good for the win here, but I am backing the hosts to get on the scoresheet. Arminia have faced three Bundesliga clubs en route to the semis, scoring at least twice against all three (2-0 v Union Berlin, 3-1 v Freiburg, and 2-1 v Werder Bremen), and while their next opponents represent a step up in class from the aforementioned trio, Leverkusen aren't in great defensive nick lately, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last six games.

Tuesday's visitors to Schuco Arena conceded 12 goals in March, shipping three to both Bayern (3-0) and Stuttgart (3-4), and are missing a few defenders for their trip to Bielefeld.

The hosts can capitalise and score a famous semi-final goal, but Leverkusen's firepower should ultimately prove too much for them.

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