Matchday in focus: Bayer Leverkusen | OneFootball

After Leverkusen’s major squad shake-up and early change of coach, anything could happen when the Eagles travel to the BayArena – but the hosts’ philosophy remains unchanged.

Tactics

Kasper Hjulmand is the new man in the Bayer 04 Leverkusen dugout following the departure of former head coach Erik ten Hag. The Bundesliga is not completely new territory for the Dane, who coached 1. FSV Mainz 05 for 24 matches during the 2014/15 season. “If you want to be a top team, it’s important to play well in all periods of a match,” Hjulmand said on Wednesday. “Above all, you need to be pro-active to control a game. In football, you need a little time – not everything works straight away.”

Tactically, Hjulmand has always been fairly flexible and rarely relies on a single system. He has alternated between a three- and four-man defence at his previous clubs, although he tends to favour a 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1 formation, which he used during his near four-year spell in charge of the Danish national team. Bayer lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in their last game – a 3-3 draw at Werder Bremen.

“They’re a top side – our opponents have incredible quality,” said Eintracht boss Dino Toppmöller. “We have to be ready for anything. It’s an unusual situation because of the major shake-up [in the squad], and the change of coach after only two matchdays doesn’t make our preparations any easier. However, their general approach will be the same as before. Their squad is geared towards a back three. I’m not expecting any major changes, but we could still be in for a surprise.”

Absentees

Eintracht will be without Mario Götze and Jessic Ngankam, while injured duo Jonas Hofmann and Martin Terrier are expected to miss out for Leverkusen.

One to watch: Malik Tillman

Attacking midfielder Malik Tillman is a new arrival, having joined Bayer from PSV Eindhoven in time for the 2025/26 season. Tillmann helped the Dutch outfit to back-to-back Eredivisie titles before leaving for Leverkusen, netting 21 goals in 54 appearances for the club. The Nuremberg-born USA international started his career at Bayern Munich, making 103 appearances for the U17s, U19s and second team. He went on to play seven games for the first team – including two in the UEFA Champions League – and was part of the squad that won Europe’s premier club competition in 2020 and the Bundesliga in 2022. Spells with Scottish side Rangers and PSV followed, before a return to Germany’s top flight with Leverkusen this summer. Tillman…

Key stats and runs

In 80 Bundesliga meetings between Leverkusen and Eintracht, there has never been a goalless draw – a German top-flight record.

Since Patrik Schick moved to Leverkusen in summer 2020, only Robert Lewandowski (76 goals) has found the net more often in the Bundesliga than the Bayer frontman (66). The Czechia international has scored more times against Frankfurt (five) than against any other side in the league apart from Freiburg and Hoffenheim (six).