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When they play SV Darmstadt 98 on Saturday, Bayer Leverkusen will look to make it three wins in a row in the Bundesliga. Since securing promotion back to Germany’s top level, the visitors have lost both of their league games.
Die Werkself have picked up where they left off with two impressive victories since Xabi Alonso took over as manager in October of last year. The former Bayern Munich midfielder led Leverkusen from the relegation zone to a Europa League qualification spot by the end of the season.
Leverkusen annihilated Teutonia Ottensen 8-0 in the DFB-Pokal, then beat RB Leipzig 3-2 in the season opener and Borussia Monchengladbach 3-0 away from home in their most recent match.
Victor Boniface, a Belgian Union Saint-Gilloise signee who cost the club roughly £20 million, scored his first two goals in the league on the same day as Jonathan Tah’s late winner. Alonso’s team put on a masterful display, controlling play for 60 percent of the match and scoring 11 times despite playing on one of Germany’s more difficult away turfs in recent seasons.
Even though they lost star player Moussa Diaby to Aston Villa in the summer transfer window, Leverkusen have recruited extremely well, adding players of the caliber of Nathan Tella, Granit Xhaka, Jonas Hofmann, and Alejandro Grimaldo. That’s why Alonso’s primary goal for the upcoming campaign is to secure a spot in next year’s Champions League, if not better.
However, before the international break in September, they have one more match to focus on, and anything less than a resounding victory over Darmstadt on Saturday will be widely considered to be a failure.
Darmstadt will go into this season with much lower expectations as they look to make it through their second season in the Bundesliga.
Despite losing three of their final four games of the season, Die Lilien were promoted to the Bundesliga for the fourth time in the club’s history after finishing second in the second tier. This was made possible by a 21-match unbeaten run in the league.
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Leverkusen vs Darmstadt Game Information
- Date: 09/02/2023
- Time: 09:30 AM ET
- Location: BayArena (Leverkusen).
- How to Watch Leverkusen vs Darmstadt: ESPN+
- Live Stream: fubo.tv
