Preview: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Eintracht Frankfurt - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors, meanwhile, have managed to cling onto sixth spot for now despite failing to win any of their last five league matches.

Match preview

Indeed, Leverkusen would leapfrog their forthcoming opponents into sixth spot should they manage to defeat them at the BayArena on Saturday, having recorded four straight league victories in recent weeks.

Xabi Alonso's side are one of the form teams in European football having won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions, with the only exception to that streak being a highly creditable 1-1 draw away to Freiburg in late February.

That has helped them secure a promising quarter-final tie against Union SG in the Europa League, which they will head into as overwhelming favourites to reach the last four, while firmly keeping their hopes of qualifying for European football through a league position alive.

Schalke 04 simply had no answer for Alonso's side when beaten 3-0 at Veltins-Arena last weekend, despite Thomas Reis's side heading into the clash unbeaten in eight matches. Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz and Sardar Azmoun all scored after half-time in a rampant second half performance from the visitors.

With Freiburg seven points clear in fourth place but hosting Bayern Munich simultaneously to this fixture, a Champions League qualification spot may not be entirely out of reach for Die Werkself, even if winning the Europa League may provide a more realistic route into Europe's elite competition next season.

Frankfurt, meanwhile, will not have completely given up hope of competing in the Champions League for a second successive season after recently being dumped out by Napoli at the last-16 stage, even if their recent form suggests they are highly unlikely to achieve that aim.

Oliver Glasner's 1-1 draw at home VfL Bochum last Friday evening marked a fifth consecutive Bundesliga match without a win for them, with three draws and two defeats seeing Leverkusen and Mainz 05 move within one point of them in the table.

However, last season's Europa League winners kept their hopes of winning a trophy for the second campaign in a row alive by dispatching Union Berlin 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday, with Randal Kolo Muani's quickfire brace in the early exchanges providing his team with a commanding foothold in the tie.

As such, Glasner could seek to prioritise Germany's cup competition across the coming weeks should his side's league form continue to stutter, but he will be determined to remain ahead of Leverkusen by at least avoiding defeat this weekend.

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Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):

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Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga form:

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Team News

Leverkusen will remain without Andrey Lunev and Patrik Schick due to back and groin injuries respectively, while Nadem Amiri's muscle strain appears likely to keep him out of contention.

After executing a clinical away performance against Schalke last time out, Alonso's only change may be to reintegrate Azmoun to his starting XI at the expense of Amine Adli, with the Iran forward scoring a late clincher after coming on as a substitute in Gelsenkirchen.

Frankfurt, meanwhile, will travel without Jesper Lindstrom and Hrvoje Smolcic due to ankle and knee issues respectively, while Christopher Lenz and Almamy Toure are unlikely to be involved due to hip problems.

Makoto Hasebe's advancing years make the defender unlikely to start for a second time in five days, meaning Tuta could anchor the visitors' back three, while Daichi Kamada will expect to start having only been used from the bench during Tuesday's cup victory against Union Berlin.

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba; Frimpong, Palacios, Andrich, Hincapie; Diaby, Wirtz; Azmoun

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:

Trapp; Jakic, Tuta, Ndicka; Buta, Rode, Sow, Max; Kamada, Gotze; Kolo Muani

We say: Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

Leverkusen have built a serious amount of momentum for themselves in recent weeks, and Alonso will be keen to ensure that his players maintain their winning streak ahead of hosting Union SG in the Europa League on Thursday.

Frankfurt, on the other hand, have seriously run out of steam in recent weeks, and we can envisage them to falling to another league defeat after their huge efforts to beat Union Berlin in the DFB-Pokal in midweek.

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