Highlights

Matchday 28

FINAL

Volkswagen Arena

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

S. Stegemann

Volkswagen Arena

90'

+ 5

Game over

Kossounou fires over from Wirtz's cut back and that will be that. Matchday 28 closes with a scoreless draw.

Full-time

90'

+ 1

Late rally

Leverkusen try to walk it into the net, first via Demirbay and then Wirtz. The chance eventually goes awry.

90'

Time added on

There will be four minutes of added time here.

90'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Micky van de Ven35.97km/h

Paulo Otávio35.51km/h

Omar Marmoush35.14km/h

89'

Almost Adli

Diaby's brilliant ball over the top catches the run of Adli, whose shot is saved by Casteels. The ball then bounces back off Adli and wafts away from the target. When Wirtz steps in to prevent the counter attack, he gets a booking.

88'

Yellow card

Florian Wirtz

86'

Diaby booked

Casteels makes a save from Andrich's shot but Diaby had fouled Bornauw in the build up. The referee shows Diaby a yellow card.

85'

Winner incoming?

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

Are we going to see one team make a burst for all three points here?

xGoals

0.93

Goals

85'

Yellow card

Moussa Diaby

82'

Wimmer chance

Wimmer shoots low and forces Hradecky to make a decent stop.

80'

Paredes injured

That's really unfortunate for Kevin Paredes, who looks to have tweaked his hamstring not long after coming on. Maxence Lacroix replaces the American. Ridle Baku is also on for the Wolves.

80'

Substitution

Ridle Baku

Yannick Gerhardt

80'

Substitution

Maxence Lacroix

Kevin Paredes

79'

B04 changes

Xabi Alonso introduces Tah and Adli into the game as we edge towards the closing stages.

78'

Substitution

Jonathan Tah

Nadiem Amiri

78'

Substitution

Amine Adli

Adam Hložek

77'

Kossounou warned

Wimmer looks to get away from Kossounou, who drags back the Wolfsburg man. That's a booking all day.

77'

Yellow card

Odilon Kossounou

75'

Svanberg goes alone

Svanberg leads the charge forward and he has options either side here. The Swede decides to go it alone and wallops a shot way over the crossbar. Groans from the home fans.

73'

Hincapie carded

Hincapie kicks Bornauw, who collapses in a heap. That's a booking for the Ecuadorian.

72'

Yellow card

Piero Hincapie

71'

Wimmer denied

Wolfsburg stream forward and the ball breaks for Wimmer, who spins and shoots low. Hradecky gets down quickly and blocks that one out.

70'

Substitution

Patrick Wimmer

Omar Marmoush

69'

Demirbay with a shot

Demirbay tries one from distance. The ball takes a nick off Guilavogui, meaning Casteels's resulting two-handed save is that much more impressive.

Bayer up threat

This has been a right old battle at the Volkswagen Arena. Leverkusen are beginning to play a lot more in Wolfsburg's half as the game presses on.

63'

Efforts aplenty

The second half has seen the shot clock increase significantly.

Goal attempts

5off target

1on target

7off target

2on target

63'

Wirtz in the mix

Florian Wirtz is on for Leverkusen, fresh from his Europa League heroics last Thursday. Azmoun makes way.

62'

Substitution

Florian Wirtz

Sardar Azmoun

61'

Amiri booked

Amiri scythes down Svanberg and that's going to be a yellow card for the Leverkusen forward.

61'

Yellow card

Nadiem Amiri

59'

SituationNo penalty

ReviewFoul?

DecisionNo penalty

58'

Svanberg off target

Terrific build up from Wolfsburg ends with Mattias Svanberg spinning and hacking at the ball, which flies well wide.

55'

Paredes on

Otavio can't continue. On comes Virginia native Kevin Paredes.

54'

Substitution

Kevin Paredes

Paulo Otávio

53'

Diaby chance

Suddenly Diaby is in on the left and battling with Sebastiaan Bornauw. The Leverkusen attacker pulls a shot out of somewhere and Casteels saves with his heel. A close call for Wolfsburg.

51'

Otavio hurt

Wind tees up Otavio with a chest pass. Wolfsburg's No. 6 lashes at the ball and hurts himself in the process. He'll need to go off for treatment.

Opening up

Chances are starting to appear at both ends now. Diaby flashes a shot high over the crossbar following a promising run.

47'

Marmoush lively

Svanberg plays a lovely through pass for Marmoush to chase. The forward latches onto the ball and is in on goals. Hradecky gets down to make a solid save from Marmoush's shot, but there was an offside flag up all the while.

46'

Back underway

Leverkusen kick off the second half.

Kick-off!

45'

+ 1

Half time

Scoreless at the break. Will be see some changes at half time? This game needs a fuel injection.

Half-time

41'

Amiri danger

Oooh. Amiri snaffles possession and spins towards the Wolfsburg goal. He fires in a threatening effort from distance which fizzes just over the top.

38'

Front and centre

Shots

Jakub Kamiński Moussa Diaby

35'

No go Hlozek

Hlozek takes possession, strides forward and tries to shoot low towards the near post. The ball flies harmlessly wide.

32'

Gerhardt menacing

Gerhardt leaps to meet Marmoush's cross from the left but the Wolfsburg man heads over the crossbar. That was a decent chance for the hosts.

30'

Kaminski has a go

Now we're motoring. Jakub Kaminski arrives on the right and smacks an effort at goal. The shot is deflected away.

30'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Micky van de Ven35.97km/h

Omar Marmoush35.14km/h

Jeremie Agyekum Frimpong34.76km/h

27'

Off the bar!

A cross from the right finds Azmoun, whose shot is deflected up onto the crossbar. There looked to be an offside in the build up to that move so Azmoun's effort may not have counted had it dropped in.

25'

Diaby strikes

Azmoun races forward on the right and lays off for Diaby, who shoots. The effort is blocked out.

21'

Tactical battle

This very much feels like Niko Kovac versus Xabi Alonso. Both sides are cancelling each other out tactically. It's going to take a piece of inspiration - or an error - to provide us with an opener.

17'

Shots incoming

Any minute now ...

Goal attempts

0off target

0on target

0off target

0on target

13'

Wayward set-piece

Demirbay's corner from the right fails to cause the hosts any problems and Wolfsburg build from the back once more.

10'

Leverkusen edging it

There's not much in this, but Xabi Alonso's men have enjoyed the majority of possession thus far.

Possession (%)

4951

Cagey opening

No chances thus far. Plenty of pinging it about in central areas but things are closing up once the ball enters the final third at both ends.

Wolves' urgency

The hosts are forcing the issue early doors here, with Bayer observing their opponents closely. Leverkusen are the counter attack specialists this season, so this could be the pattern being set from the get-go.

Game on!

We're underway in Lower Saxony, what a game we have in store here to close out Matchday 28.

Kick-off!

2:03

Watch: Leverkusen 2-2 Wolfsburg - highlights

Jeremie Frimpong rescued Leverkusen a point against Wolfsburg earlier this season.

Alonso wary of Wolfsburg

"Wolfsburg are a superb team with a lot of power and a lot of intensity," warned Alonso. "Away games there are never easy. We haven't had much time to recuperate, but we'll put out the best possible team.

Gerhardt confident

"Leverkusen have come on leaps and bounds under Alonso," said the Wolfsburg midfielder in the week. "They’ve got a huge amount of pace in the team and players with real individual quality, but we’ve got enough potential to beat them. We’ll be really well prepared for the match and we’ll be going all-out for the win. Every good run has to come to an end at some point."

1:08

Watch: International teammates reunited

Watch: Wolfsburg in good spirits

1:06

Watch: Wolves enter the den

Watch: Leverkusen in the house

Leverkusen team news

Florian Wirtz dropping to the bench is just one of five changes Xabi Alonso has made to his side compared with the team that began the midweek Europa League draw against Belgian side Union SG. Among the other changes, Sardar Azmoun makes his first start since Matchday 23 while Nadiem Amiri is also in from the off.

Wolfsburg team news

The Wolves - without captain Maxi Arnold today - are showing three changes to the side that started last weekend's 2-0 defeat against Gladbach. Bornauw, Guilavogui and Wind are all in while Lacroix, Fischer and Arnold all miss out.

Wolfsburg starting XI

Casteels (c) - Svanberg, Bornauw, Van de Ven, Otavio - F. Nmecha, Guilavogui, Gerhardt - Marmoush, Wind, Kaminski

Wolfsburg subs

Pervan, Lacroix, Cozza, Baku, Ambros, Wimmer, Paredes, Waldschmidt, Pejcinovic

Leverkusen starting XI

Hradecky (c) - Frimpong, Tah, Tapsoba, Hincapie - Andrich, Demirbay - Diaby, Hlozek, Amiri - Azmoun

Leverkusen subs

Pentz, Tah, Bakker, Sinkgraven, Fosu-Mensah, Wirtz, Hudson-Odoi, Adli, Bellarabi

No more Nmecha this season

Lukas, that is. Wolfsburg head coach Niko Kovac confirmed at his pre-match press conference that the Germany international striker will not feature again before the end of the current campaign due to a knee injury.

3:11

Watch: Leverkusen on fire

Take a closer look at how Leverkusen have flown up the table under Xabi Alonso.

Go with the Flo

Leverkusen have won a whopping 86 percent of their games in 2023 in which Florian Wirtz has started. The 19-year-old has provided six assists since the winter break; only Borussia Dortmund's Raphael Guerreiro has more (nine).

Curious record

The respective home team has not won this fixture in any of the 13 most recent meetings, which have produced four draws and nine away wins.

Leverkusen flying

Leverkusen, meanwhile, have struck a rich vein of form under Xabi Alonso. Die Werkself are currently on a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions, even winning seven on the bounce prior to their 1-1 draw with Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday.

Winless Wolfsburg

The Wolves began 2023 with a bang - their 6-0 thrashing of Freiburg on 21 January - but they have not managed to win again on home turf ever since, losing two and drawing three.

0:30

Welcome along!

Thanks for joining us for build-up and live match coverage of the Matchday 28 encounter between Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen.