Bayer Leverkusen’s top-four charge will continue when they face bottom-placed Heidenheim at the Voith Arena on Saturday.
With just 14 points across the board, Heidenheim are currently the rock bottom side in the Bundesliga and are ten points away from 16th-placed St. Pauli. Frank Schmidt’s men last won in December last year, in a 2-1 victory over Freiburg, and since then, misery has been piled upon them on a steady basis. A 1-0 defeat in their last match to Eintracht Frankfurt virtually ended their stay in the Bundesliga.
Schmidt will miss Tim Siersleben due to illness. Patrick Mainka should deputise for him in the event of an exclusion. Budu Zivzivadze could get the call to start up front.
Bayer Leverkusen approach this match on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Kasper Hjulmand would be proud of the performance they staged against The Gunners over the two legs, and now they have a chance to solely focus on the Bundesliga to grind out a top-four finish.
Die Werkself are five points short of 4th-placed Stuttgart in the league standings as they have eight games to close the gap and qualify for the Champions League again next season. Leverkusen’s last two Bundesliga matches ended in draws against Freiburg and Bayern Munich. Stuttgart’s victory over RB Leipzig have now made it possible for Hjulmand’s troops to overtake them if results elsewhere prove to be favourable to them this matchday.
Loïc Badé continues to recover from a thigh injury and will miss the clash. Tim Oermann could start in defence alongside Robert Andrich and Jarell Quansah, with Edmond Tapsoba suspended.
Ramaj – Busch, P. Mainka, Gimber, Behrens – Schöppner, Dorsch – Kerber – Dinkçi, C. Conteh – Zivzivadze.
Flekken – Quansah, Andrich, Oermann, Grimaldo – E. Fernández, Aleix García – Maza, Poku – Terrier, Schick.
