Stuttgart – Leverkusen

The German champion will not lose in the fourth meeting in a row

In one of the most important meetings of the next round of the Bundesliga will meet two clubs that have represented Germany in the Champions League this season. For a few days now, this representation can be spoken of in the past tense in relation to Bayer. The most frustrating thing is that the "pharmacists" were blocked the way to the quarter-finals by Bayern. Now the Leverkusen club has two tasks for the rest of the season. To try to do the seemingly improbable and level the eight-point gap with Bayern in the Bundesliga standings as well as to defend the title in the German Cup, where Bayer has already reached the semi-finals with obvious prospects of passing Arminia at this stage. Stuttgart became vice-champions at the end of last season, reminding their fans of 2007 when their club won the most important German title. Now Sebastian Hoeness's wards occupy only the eighth place in the standings with vague prospects for European Cup positions. Bookmakers have identified the guests as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 2.27 on their victory. Stuttgart clearly lacked for the entire current season. In its first half, the Swabians somehow managed to cope with the bar set in the last championship, but by the end of January frankly floated. As a result, in the last nine official meetings, Stuttgart won one match each in the German Cup and the Bundesliga, losing points in the other games. Now the winless streak of the Swabians is four Bundesliga rounds, in two of which they faced opponents from the second half of the standings. Bayer two months ago lost to Atletico Madrid in the seventh round of the overall Champions League stage, after which they gained an encouraging playing form and did not lose to anyone for about a month and a half. In the first half of March, the Pharmacists lost twice to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and also lost to Werder in the Bundesliga. Three consecutive defeats for the reigning German champion is akin to a disaster. Despite the fact that the upcoming opponent is not a gift either, it is hard to believe that a team of such a class will lose for the fourth time in a row. Moreover, in the first round Bayer miraculously failed to beat Stuttgart, dominating them throughout the match.