Champions League: Feyenoord and Leverkusen Can Be the Wildcards

Feyenoord vs Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen are back in the Champions League after a two-year odyssey, and they will commence their campaign with a visit to Feyenoord at De Kuip on Thursday evening.

Xabi Alonso knows what it takes to win on Europe’s biggest stage as a player, and he’ll aim to have a similar experience this year, but this time as a head coach.

Meanwhile, Feyenoord are back here for the second straight year, and they’ll aim to do much better under a new head coach after bombing out in the group stage last time.

Feyenoord and Bayer Leverkusen have experienced mixed results in their respective domestic leagues so far, and getting all three points should give them a huge confidence boost.

As we look forward to this intriguing matchup, we’ll discuss these two teams in detail in today’s SBOTOP preview.

Talking Points

Feyenoord finding their footing post-Slot

Feyenoord are coming off a robust 2023-24 campaign, as they finished second to PSV in the Dutch Eredivisie and won the KNVB Cup. They also won the Johan Cruyff Shield under Brian Priske, who replaced Arne Slot at the helm last month.

However, it would be difficult for Brian Priske and co. to replicate what the team did last season because they went through a lot of changes this summer.

Other than the managerial change, Feyenoord sold some of their best players, Mats Wieffer and Lutsharel Geertruida, while Yankuba Minteh returned to Brighton after his loan spell.

With these three gone, Feyenoord will rely heavily on Santiago Gimenez, David Hancko, Antoni Milambo, Quinten Timber, Igor Paixao, and Calvin Stengs to produce for the team.

Gimenez and Paixao lead the team in scoring with two goals each, while Stengs already has two assists under his belt.

Unfortunately for Brian Priske, Calvin Stengs won’t be around for a while since he had surgery on his injured left knee. Ayase Ueda and Bart Nieuwkoop are the top candidates to replace Stengs in the starting XI.

Feyenoord will aim to improve their form as they are currently sixth in the Dutch Eredivisie table, but they haven’t lost a single match under Priske thus far.

Bayer Leverkusen have a full squad

Influential midfielder Exequiel Palacios is no longer on the injury list after recovering from knee surgery, meaning that Xabi Alonso has all options to choose from ahead of Thursday.

After losing 3-2 to RB Leipzig to start the month of September, Die Werkself returned on the winning track by beating Hoffenheim to a pulp with a score of 4-1 on Saturday.

Victor Boniface (brace), Martin Terrier, and Florian Wirtz found the back of the net in the said game, and they will look to keep it going against Feyenoord.

Wirtz is one of the frontrunners for the Bundesliga Golden Boot race with three goals, and he is primed to create new Champions League 2024 highlights.

The 21-year-old wunderkind has been involved in more goals (12 goals and 12 assists) and created more chances (88) than any other player across the last four Europa League seasons.

History

Feyenoord and Bayer Leverkusen will meet for the second time ever on Thursday.

Bayer Leverkusen defeated Feyenoord 3-2 in their previous meeting during the Round of 16 of the 1987-88 UEFA Cup en route to winning the trophy.

Die Werkself are undefeated in their six previous UEFA competition matches against Dutch sides (W3, D3). This is their first game against a Netherlands-based opponent since a goalless draw with PSV in the UEFA Cup in September 1994.

Feyenoord, meanwhile, have lost 12 of their last 15 matches in the Champions League (W3).

As mentioned, Xabi Alonso won the Champions League twice in his playing career (119 appearances), with Liverpool in 2004-05 and Real Madrid in 2013-14, and now he’ll make his coaching debut at this stage.

Betting Tip

The Champions League 2024 odds are in favour of the visitors winning on Thursday. Bayer Leverkusen are 1.79 favourites, whereas Feyenoord are at 3.69, and a draw is at 3.68 in the 1X2 market.

Other than going for a Bayer Leverkusen victory, bettors can also go for a relatively high-scoring contest, with the visitors expected to score more, making alternatives like Total Goals 2-3 at 2.16, Over 2.75 at 1.66, or even Over 3.25 at 2.08 viable.

A Correct Score of 3-2 in favour of Bayer Leverkusen – the result of their first-ever meeting a long time ago – has a generous 18.50 offer.

On the other hand, any result that would see Feyenoord get at least a point should give you a payout of at least 16.00.

 

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