After his hat-trick heroics saw Bayer Leverkusen battle back to beat Heidenheim, Patrik Schick will hope to help seal an important UEFA Champions League win when the Bundesliga champions host an out-of-form Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday (kick-off: 9pm CET).

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Leverkusen's Champions League campaign has so far mirrored their Bundesliga title defence in being promising but bringing a couple of bumps along the way. A thumping 4-0 win at Feyernoord and 1-0 victory at home to AC Milan provided a superb start, before a draw at Brest and 4-0 reverse in Liverpool saw the champions of Germany slip to 13th in the league stage table - not a bad position, but one that makes a win at home to Salzburg important for the hopes of Xabi Alonso's men to finish in the top eight. Schick is to lead the line in the injury absence of Victor Boniface and will be confident of finding the net again after a match-winning hat-trick in the 5-2 comeback win against Heidenheim. Summer signing Martin Terrier fractured an arm as a late substitute in the Bundesliga win, and will not be available until the new year, as will Jonas Hofmann after sustaining an injury ahead of the encounter. The indications are though that Jeremie Frimpong will be fine to play after coming off at half-time on Saturday following a collision with an opponent. 

Salzburg travel over the border from Austria to Leverkusen as big underdogs mired in the challenge of retaining their status as a force of their domestic game. A run of 10 successive Austrian titles was ended by Sturm Graz under new Hoffenheim coach Christian Ilzer last season, and the current campaign has been even worse, with the club down in sixth out of 12 teams in the Austrian top flight currently. A winless run of league matches was extended to four with a bizarre home defeat at the weekend in which they dominated LASK Linz from start to finish but still lost 2-1. Having started the Champions League with a dire run of three defeats without a single goal scored, the one bright spot in their recent run was a 3-1 win at Feyenoord in the last matchday. RB Leipzig goalkeeper Janis Blaswich joined Salzburg on loan in the summer but has lost his starting spot during the side's poor run of form.

Watch: Schick's hat-trick saw Leverkusen beat Heidenheim on Saturday

Match stats

• Leverkusen are unbeaten in their last 10 European home games (W6, D4), dating back to a 3-2 loss to Monaco in their 2022/23 UEFA Europa League last-16 play-off first leg.
• Alonso won two Champions League titles as a player, lifting the trophy in 2004/05 with Liverpool and 2013/14 with Real Madrid.
• Schick scored five goals and was Leverkusen's joint-top scorer with Boniface in last season's Europa League on route to the final.
• Bayer have won four of six previous UEFA competition games against teams from Austria, drawing one and losing the other.
• Salzburg, meanwhile, have lost four of six Champions League meetings with German opposition (W1, D1).
• Blaswich won the 2022/23 DFB Cup and 2023/24 Supercup with Leipzig.

Probable teams

Leverkusen: Hrádecký (c) - Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapié - Frimpong, Xhaka, Palacios, Grimaldo - García, Wirtz - Schick
Out: Adli (broken leg), Belocian (foot), Boniface (thigh), Hofmann (muscular), Mukiele (thigh), Terrier (arm)
Doubtful: -
Coach: Xabi Alonso

Salzburg: Schlager (c) - Dedić, Piątkowski, Baidoo, Terzić - Bidstrup, Gourna-Douath - Gloukh - Nene, Konate, Yeo
Out: Blaswich (calf), Fernando (thigh), Kjaergaard (ankle), Morgalla (thigh)
Doubtful: -
Coach: Pepijn Lijnders

LIVE blog!

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Leverkusen

Tue, 26.11 20:00

Salzburg

Champions League
League phase, Matchday 5 League phase, Matchday 5 BayArena

Alonso - We need the fans

Ahead of their Champions League tie with Salzburg, coach Xabi Alonso spoke about the importance of the fans, telling the official club website: "We need the energy from the fans. In difficult moments, they can influence us and push us. We need this support from the stands to be able to enjoy Champions League nights together."

© IMAGO/BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Wunderl

First meeting

This will be the first time that these two sides have met competitively. In Salzburg's eight previous European meetings with German opposition, they have won three, drawn two and lost three. The opponents for these eight games were Leipzig (two wins from two), Dortmund (one win and one draw) and Bayern (three losses and one draw).

Back to winning ways

Without a win in their last two European games, Leverkusen will look to get back to winning ways against RB Salzburg. Xabi Alonso's men haven't been their usual selves domestically, drawing three of their last five, and will see Tuesday's clash with Salzburg as an opportunity to get themselves back on track.

2:03

Watch: Bayer Leverkusen 5-2 Heidenheim - highlights

Leverkusen came from behind to record an emphatic victory over Heidenheim.

Leverkusen - the story so far

Leverkusen's unbeaten start ended in an unceremonious 4-0 defeat to Liverpool on Matchday 4. Prior to that, Xabi Alonso's charges had picked up wins over Feyenoord and AC Milan whilst drawing with surprise package Brest.

© IMAGO/Paul Currie/Shutterstock

Salzburg - the story so far

After overcoming Dynamo Kyiv in the play-offs, Salzburg lost their first three league fixtures against Sparta Prague, Brest and Dinamo Zagreb, before beating 10-man Feyenoord 3-1 away last time out.

Welcome!

Thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of Bayer Leverkusen's fifth UEFA Champions League game of the 2024/25 league phase at home to Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday.

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