Bayer Leverkusen may not be favourites going into their fixture with last season's UEFA Champions League winners Paris-Saint Germain, but here’s why they can prove people wrong and overcome Luis Enrique’s side.
Advertisement
The first point in Leverkusen’s favour comes courtesy of the BayArena. The 2023/24 Bundesliga winners have suffered just one Champions League defeat in their last six games on home turf, registering victories against the likes of both AC and Inter Milan in that time.
Their home record stands at four wins, one draw and one loss since the start of the 2024/25 season, with Bayern Munich the only team to win there in that period. They have scored 10 goals over those six games and conceded just three, recording clean sheets against both Milan sides as well as Sparta Prague and RB Salzburg.
Die Werkself's home advantage is further illuminated when looking at their Bundesliga record, which presents just four losses in their own back yard since the start of the 2023/24 campaign. That, coupled with the fact that PSG have often struggled away to German opposition, means Leverkusen will have an air of confidence before a ball is kicked.
The Parisians have travelled to Germany a total of 15 times in the Champions League, winning five and drawing two of those encounters but losing eight.
Bayer, meanwhile, have recorded just one loss from their first 10 competitive games in all competitions this season. They have not tasted defeat since Bundesliga Matchday 1 against Hoffenheim, and although their draw against Werder Bremen the following week will have left a sour taste, the following eight matches have proven they are made of stern stuff.
That run of results has been achieved in spite of the huge changes that have been made to both playing and management personnel over the summer.
Leverkusen have put their early-season wobble firmly behind them. - IMAGO/Fernando Soares
App-Clickout Banner
Players brought in to replace big-name departures have hit the ground running, making Leverkusen look like a team that has been together for numerous seasons. While Jarell Quansah and Loïc Badé are the most notable defensive reinforcements, former PSG youth product Axel Tape had also made quite an impression before suffering a hamstring injury earlier this month.
Also relatively unknown before his arrival, Equi Fernández has already shown that he can help soften the blow of losing former captain Granit Xhaka. The Argentine looks like being one of the finds of the summer, with his tenacity adding much-needed bite to Bayer's midfield.
Equi Fernández was sent off on his Leverkusen debut after coming on as a late substitute, but still managed to show glimpses of his quality in that cameo. - DFL/Getty Images/Lukas Schulze
Other players stealing the headlines are the likes of the aforementioned Quansah and Badé, as well as some of Die Werkself's new attacking talent. Ernest Poku and Christian Kofane have netted five goals between them in games against St. Pauli, PSV, Union Berlin and Mainz, getting straight into the goalscoring groove and proving their ability to deputise for main man Patrik Schick.
Malik Tillman will miss Tuesday's game through injury, but Ibrahim Maza and Golden Boy nominee Eliesse Ben Seghir are also oozing with attacking quality. The man that has got them all signing from the same sheet, though, is Kasper Hjulmand, who has had an enormous impact since his arrival.
After a disappointing first couple of weeks before his appointment, the Dane led Leverkusen to a dominant Matchday 3 win over a Frankfurt side that had coasted to victory in their opening two games.
Watch: Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
The Eagles' early-season form did little to unnerve Hjulmand, who managed to limit Dino Toppmöller's side to just one shot one target. Leverkusen also completed 19 more tackles than their opponents in an eye-catching display that made the rest of the league sit up and take note.
In PSG, Hjulmand now faces his toughest opponents yet - but the 53-year-old will be confident of engineering a famous victory at a raucous BayArena on Tuesday night.