Werder Bremen vs. Bayer Leverkusen Betting Preview – Bundesliga, May 18

Werder Bremen has ten games to ensure its topflight status remains intact for a 40^th consecutive season, and Bayer Leverkusen is next up at the Weserstadion.

It has been a campaign to forget so far for the northern German club, and points are needed quickly if it is not to drop down into the second tier.

If you’re interested in my take on how this match will go and what the best bet is, keep reading through to my Werder Bremen vs. Bayer Leverkusen prediction and betting pick.

BetOnline makes the visiting team the clear favorite to win this one, and Leverkusen’s record away from home certainly backs up that reading of the game. Werder is in deep trouble, and I’m not sure that the odds for a home win or even a draw are worth pursuing.

Although Werder Bremen has hardly shone at all this season, there was definitely a change in fortune around the start of December last year, and the club has not really been able to pick itself up since then. Just one win in its last eleven games has put Bremen in real danger of being relegated.

Veteran forward Claudio Pizarro is ruled out with a thigh injury this week, but top goal scorer Milot Rashica should be available, and the Kosovo international striker will be needed if Werder is to get anything from this game, let alone able to somehow escape the drop this season.

Bayer Leverkusen, on the other hand, has completely different aspirations for the rest of the 2019/20 season. A repeat of last year’s top-four finish is certainly achievable, even if most of the attention remains on the four clubs currently above Leverkusen in the league. The run of form before the recent break was very impressive, seeing the club climb from seventh in the table at Christmas.

There are nowhere near as many goals scored by Leverkusen compared to its main rivals at the top of the table, but the defense is sound, and it will be the main reason behind any eventual successful Champions League qualification. A fairly straightforward-looking victory here would help with that.

A curious spell of play when Werder Bremen drew five consecutive games early on in the season — including one away at Dortmund — has been the only real highlight of the campaign so far, and time is now running out if it wants to remain a Bundesliga club. With Bayer Leverkusen very keen to add points to its Champions League cause, there seems to be only one way this game is ending up on Monday evening.

If you’re interested in doing some more wagering this weekend, head over to our soccer section for more picks.