Bundesliga: BVB and Bayer are Both Playing Catch-Up

Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen

Two Bundesliga heavyweights meet on Saturday at the Signal Iduna Park both willing to slug it out in pursuit of much-needed points.   

It’s second versus sixth with the hosts running out of time to chase down league leaders Bayern Munich. Niko Kovac’s Dortmund have won their last four league games and have only lost two games all season, and they have a 14 point lead over fifth place. But they trail the Bavarians by nine points with six games remaining. BVB won away to fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart last week and they need to win all six of their games left, while hoping Die Bayern have an almighty slump.      

Kasper Hjulmand’s Bayer Leverkusen whacked Wolfsburg 6-3 last time out and are solid in sixth, ten points clear of seventh-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, and they are looking upwards, with Red Bull Leipzig, currently third, just four points ahead, so the race for Champions League places will be a compelling watch over the next few weeks. 

Bayer have a much bigger chance of reaching their target; but the pre-match SBOTOP odds say Die Schwarzgelben can make it five league wins on the bounce, so let’s take a closer look at the two teams. 

 

Talking Points

Dortmund are strong in the business areas  

When Borussia met Stuttgart last week they were deep into stoppage time at 0-0 before Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt scored on 94 and 96 minutes. Kovac’s side were ruthless in attack, albeit a little late, while also keeping a clean sheet, with keeper Gregor Kobel registering his 13^th of the campaign, three more than any other stopper in the league. 

BVB are defensively solid though they haven’t always been the most expansive side in the competition, but they do have a lethal bite, with Serhou Guirassy top scoring on 13 goals. And Adeyemi, who scored a wonderful goal last week, has bagged seven alongside Brandt. And both of those forwards are trying to impress Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann in the run-up to the World Cup.   

The Bundesliga 2026 betting odds have consistently backed Die Schwarzgelben to finish second this term; but they haven’t quite given up yet. It would take a phenomenal collapse from the Bavarians for BVB to smash and grab the title, as well as Kobel continuing to close the door while the strikers do their business.     

 

Draws are costing Leverkusen 

The appointment of Hjulmand as Bayer Leverkusen boss has proved to be a shrewd move on the part of the Leverkusen board. Die Werkself have been hard to beat under their Danish boss, but they have struggled to turn draws into wins; they haven’t recorded back-to-back victories since January and have drawn four of their last six games.      

Bayer’s tussles with Arsenal in the Champions League showed Die Werkself’s resilient side under Hjulmand, drawing 1-1 at home and frustrating the Gunners back at the Emirates. And while they have an experienced front line, spearheaded by Czech striker Patrik Schick, Bayer’s most potent player, on current form, is left wingback Alejandro Grimaldo. He has made two assists and scored two goals over the past two games, making it 15 goal involvements for the league season, and the BVB defence will have a close eye on him.        

 

History 

The head-to-head clashes between these two giants have been keenly contested, with BVB winning 22 of the last 46 encounters, Leverkusen winning 14 and there have been ten draws. 

Die Werkself have picked up plenty of results at the Signal Iduna Park too, with eight wins, three draws and 12 defeats. In fact they have won on their last two visits to Dortmund, 3-2 in the league last year and 1-0 in a DFB Pokal tie in December as 20-year-old sensation Ibrahim Maza scored the winner.

But the last league meeting, in Leverkusen in November, was a good day out for BVB as they won 2-1, thanks to an Adeyemi double, and climbed above Die Werkself into second place where they have stayed since.   

In terms of recent league form, Dortmund have won four, drawn one and lost one of their last six while Die Werkself have won two and drawn four. 

 

Betting Tip

Fans of the other top six chasing sides will be watching the Bundesliga 2026 updates from the Signal Iduna Park with keen interest and, with Bayer at odds of 3.30 and the draw at 3.85 the visitors are certainly in the game.

A win for BVB would suit the chasing pack while not worrying Bayern Munich too much, providing they can win away to St Pauli; and a 2-1 result, at odds of 7.90, would suit pretty much everyone outside Leverkusen.   

   

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