Florian Wirtz (no.10) is central to Bayer Leverkusen's hopes of silverware this season. - © Alexander Scheuber/Bundesliga

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5 reasons Bayer Leverkusen can beat Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League

28.10.2024

Bayer Leverkusen take on in-form Liverpool on UEFA Champions League Matchday 4, and Xabi Alonso's double winners can head to Anfield full of confidence. Here's why!

1) Stunning form

If anyone has good reason to be confident right now, it's Xabi Alonso's double winners, who have lost just twice in the 67 competitive matches they have played since the beginning of last season in all competitions.

That run has seen Die Werkself clinch the club's first-ever Bundesliga title and just a second DFB Cup - as well as the Supercup - while making it all the way to the Europa League final, so Alonso's is a squad accustomed to achieving the 'impossible'. Does this mean they will have the confidence to get a result against a red-hot Liverpool side who have won all three of their Champions League games so far this season? Absolutely!

Watch: The best link-ups between Florian Wirtz and Victor Boniface

2) Strike force

Of course, having a world-class attacking line-up also helps. With Germany international Florian Wirtz constructing - and often completing - attacking moves while Nigeria hit-man Victor Boniface provides pace, power and precision finishing - as well as link-up play - at the sharp end of the attack, Alonso has two crucial focal points going forward.

But it's the players who complement them that make the team so dangerous. The wing-back pairing of Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo have done so well together since the beginning of last season - plundering 29 goals and cooking up 41 more - that they earned the hybrid moniker 'Grimpong', while French attacking midfielder Martin Terrier, settling in after a summer move from Rennes, brings a creative touch and some sharp finishing.

Even defensive midfielder Robert Andrich is good for the odd goal, as he proved when he slapped home a spectacular strike in Leverkusen's 1-1 Matchday 5 draw with Bayern Munich.

Watch: All Victor Boniface's Bundesliga goals

But it doesn't stop there either: Alonso's game plan brings just about everyone into play - no fewer than ten different players have struck for Leverkusen in the league this season - and they manage to threaten from all phases of the game, with five of their 20 league goals this season coming from set pieces and a Bundesliga-high three from corners.

This means they have the variety to find a way past any defence, which should pile the pressure on Liverpool's back-up keeper Caoimhín Kelleher, who is expected to line up between the sticks in the absence of first-choice custodian Alisson Becker, out with a hamstring injury.

Watch: A tactical analysis of Alonso's Leverkusen

3) Ironclad defence in Europe this season

But it's not just from their wealth of attacking riches that Leverkusen can draw confidence. Their invincible double-winning campaign last season was based on a miserly back-line, and while their football has seen a slightly increased emphasis on attack this season, Alonso's defenders have conceded just once in three undefeated outings in the Champions League this term.

This goal, a superb volley that Pierre Lees-Melou fired through a crowded area in the 1-1 draw with Brest in Brittany last time out, was a tough ask for back-up keeper Matěj Kovář to save. In any case, first-choice custodian Lukáš Hrádecký - Bayer's captain and 200-match mainstay between the sticks last season - is now back in action and ready to bring his wealth of experience to bear.

Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky shows his skills against Bayern Munich. - IMAGO/Jan Huebner

4) Inside info

Speaking of which, Alonso's five years as a Liverpool player - a stint that saw him lift the Champions League in that epic comeback against Milan in in Istanbul in 2005, as well a the 2006 FA Cup, among other titles - furnished him with an intimate knowledge of the club. He may have left the Reds over 15 years ago but as a returning cult hero, he won't feel intimidated when he walks into Anfield, and this confidence will surely rub off on his already confident (see above!) players.

On top of this, ever-present midfield anchor Granit Xhaka is more than a seasoned campaigner when it comes to taking on Liverpool, having faced the Reds no fewer than 12 times during his long spell in the Premier League with Arsenal (2016-2023). The defensive midfielder was part of the side that pipped Liverpool to the 2020/21 Community Shield 6-5 on penalties, and will be looking to go one better than the 2-2 draw Arsenal clinched in his last clash with the Reds, at Anfield in April 2023.

Watch: Granit Xhaka & Xabi Alonso - the special connection

5) Strength in depth

Alonso has famously assembled quite the squad since taking the reins at Leverkusen in 2023, and he has the vast majority of his squad fit and ready to go for this headline clash in England. With Amine Adli (fibula) and Jeanuël Belocian (ankle) the only players missing, the Spanish coach not only has the freedom of picking a starting XI of his choosing, but also the versatility on the field and the depth on the bench to adapt to whatever Liverpool boss Arne Slot and his charges throw their way.

Central striker Patrik Schick provides a more-than-credible alternative to Boniface, especially if Alonso is looking to exploit high balls into the box, while Jonas Hofmann, like Terrier, is perfectly capable of providing a killer final pass should Wirtz look to get further forward, as was the case against Brest. While Andrich and Xhaka have the two defensive midfield position in Alonso's preferred 3-4-2-1 formation on lock, deep-lying playmaker Aleix García, midfield chameleon Exequiel Palacios and speed demon Nathan Tella provide flexibility of style with no cost to quality and cohesion.