Preview: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Hertha Berlin

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Bundesliga clash between Bayer Leverkusen and Hertha Berlin, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Bayer Leverkusen will be aiming to return to winning ways when they host Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Hertha, meanwhile, moved outside of the relegation places with a 2-0 win against Augsburg last weekend.

Match preview

Although Leverkusen have only collected four points from their last five league games after drawing 1-1 away to Freiburg last time out, very few people can question the work Xabi Alonso has done since taking charge in early October.

The former Real Madrid midfielder, who is embarking on his first elite level managerial role after coaching Real Sociedad's B team for three years, guided Leverkusen away from relegation danger via a brilliant run of form during the early weeks of his tenure, while his side completed an excellent turnaround against Monaco in the Europa League last Thursday.

After squandering a 2-1 lead at BayArena to lose the first leg 3-2, Die Werkself were considerable underdogs to reach the last 16 of Europe's secondary competition, but Alonso's side fought back to win by the same scoreline in normal time at Stade Louis II, before prevailing 5-3 on penalties to set up a winnable tie against Ferencvaros.

With sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt 10 points ahead of Leverkusen prior to a ball being kicked in the Bundesliga this weekend, there is little for Leverkusen to play for domestically for the rest of the season beyond personal pride through securing a top-half finish.

However, Alonso will be keen to build momentum by beating Hertha ahead of their first leg against the Hungarian champions on Thursday, with the Europa League representing their only chance of winning silverware and competing in the Champions League next season.

After enduring a miserable run of seven defeats in eight league games, Hertha have bounced back with two victories from their last three matches, climbing out of the bottom three in the process.

Sandro Schwarz, who has been publicly backed by the club's board on several occasions despite his side's poor run of results at times during his debut season in charge, appears to have found the magic formula at Olympiastadion, having beaten Borussia Monchengladbach and Augsburg 4-1 and 2-0 respectively on their home patch in recent weeks.

The next step for the 44-year-old is to improve his side's away form, having lost eight of their 10 matches on the road in the Bundesliga so far this season. However, given the lack of form of the relegation-threatened sides beneath Die Alte Dame in the table, winning most of their home games could prove enough for them to survive.

Regardless, Schwarz will not want to rely on that, and he may sense an excellent opportunity to record only his second away win in charge against a potentially distracted Leverkusen outfit on Sunday.

Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga form:

Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):

Hertha Berlin Bundesliga form:

Team News

Leverkusen will remain without Andrey Lunev and Charles Aranguiz due to existing back and calf issues respectively, but otherwise Alonso appears to have a fully fit squad to select from.

Although the Spaniard will undoubtedly have half an eye on his side's first leg against Ferencvaros in the Europa League, that may only affect his selection strategy during the match depending on game state, as opposed to before kickoff.

As such, Florian Wirtz is likely to return to the starting XI for only the fourth time in the Bundesliga this season as Alonso attempts to increase the 19-year-old's match fitness, with similar applying to Sardar Azmoun after the Iran international scored his first league goal of the season last time out.

Hertha, meanwhile, will travel without Wilfried Kanga, Chidera Ejuke, Kelian Nsona and Rune Jarstein, but Marton Dardai is available for selection again after recovering from a hip injury to be named in Schwarz's matchday squad against Augsburg.

The 21-year-old could replace Marc Oliver Kempf, who was substituted during the 2-0 win due to a head injury, while Dodi Lukebakio is likely to replace Jessic Ngankam in attack after only being used from the bench last time out.

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Andrich, Palacios, Bakker; Wirtz, Diaby; Azmoun

Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Rogel, Uremovic, Dardai; Richter, Tousart, Cigerci, Serdar, Plattenhardt; Lukebakio, Niederlechner

We say: Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Hertha Berlin

Although Hertha have considerably improved in recent weeks, their away form remains extremely poor, and we expect Leverkusen to return to winning ways in the Bundesliga as a result.

Alonso will hope for a dominant first-half performance in order to allow him to rest players before hosting Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday, but the visitors are unlikely to make things that easy for the Spaniard and his side.