We present a meeting between the champion and vice-champion of past Bundesliga campaigns: German and Austrian, respectively. Of course, we are talking about a head-to-head match between Bayer Xabi Alonso and Salzburg Pepijn Lijnders. What adds interest to this confrontation for Ukrainian fans is the fact that this confrontation will be judged by a team of UPL referees led by Nikolai Balakin.
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5th round of the Champions League season 2024/25
Tuesday, November 26th
Germany, Leverkusen. “Bay-Arena”
Referee: Nikolai Balakin (Ukraine)
Bayer 22:00 “Salzburg”
Text online broadcast of the match – match center UA-Football >>> | video broadcast: RAINBOW
Bayer: latest news
“Pharmacists” started this campaign of the main European Cup with a bang, winning two consecutive victories in the first two rounds. We are talking about the away defeat over Brian Priske’s Feyenoord (4:0) and the minimal triumph over Paulo Fonseca’s Milan. However, this was followed by two misfires.
First, Xabi Alonso’s gang failed to beat Brest, which was far from the strongest by the standards of the Champions League, on the road – 1:1. And in the last round, the reigning German champion at Anfield was destroyed by Arne Slot’s Liverpool – 0:4. Hence, the match against Salzburg should become a certain rehabilitation “pill” for the “pharmacists”. Moreover, the meeting will take place at the home Bay Arena.
As for matters in the national championship, Bayer is on a more or less stable schedule and finishes in the top 4 of the German championship standings. And last weekend, the Spanish coach’s charges generally showed off and staged a fabulous, victorious comeback against Heidenheim, defeating their opponent with a final score of 5:2.
“The first half was difficult, we couldn’t find a good situation. Everything was too hectic. During the break we could have been more relaxed and that was the key to our performance. It was a well-deserved victory,” Alonso said after the game against Heidenheim.
Therefore, Xabi Alonso’s team should be in a fighting mood before the meeting with the “red bulls”. You need to go out and get yours.
Bayer’s tentative lineup: Hradecki, Frimpong, Tapsoba, Ta, Incapie, Grimaldo, Palacios, Xhaka, Wirtz, Boniface, Garcia.
Salzburg: latest news
Only in the last round of the Champions League did the “red bulls” manage to score their first goals and win their first points in this campaign. Let us remind you that in the previous round, Salzburg beat the Dutch Feyenoord on the road – 3:1. Before this, there was a defeat from Dinamo Zagreb (0:2), a pogrom from the French Brest (0:4) and a productive fiasco with Sparta Prague (0:3).
The match with Bayer should be a showcase for Pepijn Lijnders’ team. In particular, to give a final answer to the question: is this Austrian roster ready to reach big goals at this stage of its development? The match in Leverkusen will show everything.
Because if you take out the top-level performances (of course, this means the Champions League)then Salzburg’s results are not at all convincing in the regular season. Only 18 points in 12 rounds, and 6th place. Modest for such a club, by the standards of the Austrian Bundesliga.
Salzburg line-up: Blazvich, Capaldo, Piantkowski, Baidu, Terzic, Clarke, Gurna-Dout, Diambu, Nene, Konate, Glukh.
Bayer – Salzburg. Personal meetings
“Pharmacists” and “bulls” held only one meeting with each other. And then, friendly. This happened back in 2015 – then in the off-season the teams split amicably (1:1).
Bayer – Salzburg. Latest official matches
Bayer:
“Salzburg”:
Team standings
We are dealing with representatives of different parts of the main European Cup table. Bayer so far has 7 points and 13th positions in the overall standings. In turn, Salzburg has only 3 points and is in 30th place.
Bayer – Salzburg. Bet and odds
Bayer – Salzburg. Forecast for the match from UA-Football
Victory for the pharmacists. By all criteria, the Germans are the favorites of this pair. The defeat by Liverpool in the last round should not be misleading, after all, these are the Merseysiders – a completely different level compared to Salzburg. Moreover, the match will take place at Bayer’s home arena. Therefore, we expect a confident and calm victory for the home team.
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