First Team

Battle of efficiency

The fact file on the Wolves’ home match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Defending Bundesliga champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen are the visitors to the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday 8 February (kick-off 15:30 CET). While Leverkusen are currently ‘only’ in second place in the table behind perennial champions FC Bayern Munich, the Werkself are hitting impressive form, with nine wins in their last 10 Bundesliga games. A considerable task for VfL at the weekend, but the Wolves can also take heart from one or two statistics.

More facts and figures:

  • The Green-and-Whites lost 4-3 in the reverse fixture in Leverkusen, but that’s not the highest-scoring encounter there’s been between the two teams. Almost 10 years ago, on 14 February 2015, there were nine goals in a 5-4 victory for VfL at the BayArena – at the time the first ever away win over Bayer!
     
  • Denis Vavro made his debut for VfL in the first meeting this season.
     
  • Xabi Alonso’s side are unbeaten in 26 Bundesliga away matches. Only Bayern Munich (33 away games undefeated between 2022 and 2024) and coach Udo Lattek (27 games) have previously achieved this, so Alonso is also chasing an individual record on Saturday.
     
  • Leverkusen have lost just once in the league in the current Bundesliga campaign – against RB Leipzig on Matchday 2 (3-2). As well as six draws, the Werkself have registered 13 wins. Only the current leaders from Munich have outshone them in these statistics with 16 wins, three draws and one loss.
     
  • Despite this record, Bayer have only kept three clean sheets this term. That’s one less than the Green-and-Whites have managed.
     
  • This is a fixture that has tended to favour the away team in recent years. The Wolves last beat Leverkusen at home in October 2015, while the Werkself have only won two of the last nine meetings at the BayArena.
     
  • Wolfsburg are the only team with a better chance conversion rate (23 percent) than Leverkusen (21 percent).
     
  • VfL continue to lead the league when it comes to set pieces. Eight goals from corners is the most in the German top flight, while the Green-and-Whites are joint top with Bayern for total set-piece goals.