FC Nurnberg-Bayer Leverkusen
Football : Germany : Bundesliga
Easy Credit Stadion
Sunday, 7th March 2010 – kickoff 15:30

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FC Nurnberg

Nurnberg will be involved in tough relegation battle in the remaining games of the season as they currently sit 16th at the table with just 18 points. Last week they showed a good performance, not good enough to get a win, but they still managed a draw against Vfl Bochum who are one of their rivals at the bottom and climbed one spot at the table.

FC Nurnberg plays better this second part of the season as they have collected six points from the first seven games after the winter break. One convincing 3-1 win over their direct relegation rivals Hannover 96 and three draws, including 1-1 draw against the giants Bayern Munich.

Coach Dieter Hecking will have much weakened team since the last weekend as some players will not be able to play. The best striker of the team Albert Bunjaku, who had scored eleven times so far for Nurnberg, is suspended because he got red card last week. Angelos Charisteas will take his place as only striker in the team.

The team will play with five defenders with Breno and Andreas Ottl as central defenders. Those two players are on loan from Bayern Munich until the end of the season and they do a good job so far.

Probable FC Nurnberg line-up :
Schafer,
Diekmeier, Wolf, Breno, Ottl, Pinola,
Tavares, Gundogan , Risse, Frantz ,
Charisteas

Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen failed to win against FC Koln last week and were held to goalless draw. That draw had somehow bitter taste as the team lost their first position at the table after being on top for 23 rounds.They continued their unbeaten run and set the record as the first German team ever with a run of 24 matches being undefeated, but that would not count much if this team does not get back on top and win the championship.

Now they are two points behind Bayern Munich and have to recover quickly and start with another winning run. Bayer Leverkusen have too many draws this season as their last week`s goalless draw against FC Koln was eleventh draw in the current campaign.

The top Bundesliga striker with 13 goals behind his name Stefan Kiessling has scored only once in the last ten league matches which is probably one of the reasons why the team lost its first place.

For this match Thomas Zdebel and Lars Bender are doubtful for selection due to their injuries as well as the team captain Simon Rolfes who will not be able to play. Sami Hyypia is back at the defense where he is doing a great job this season.

The striker Patrick Helmes returned back with trainings after his injury but he will not play in this match as he is still approaching match fitness.

Probable Bayer Leverkusen line-up :
Adler,
Schwaab, Friedrich, Hyypia, Castro, Vidal,
Reinartz, Renato Augusto, Kroos ,
Kiessling, Derdiyok

The Betting Verdict

The first match between these teams this season ended in 4-0 win for Bayer Leverkusen and Bayer Leverkusen have won the last four matches against FC Nurnberg.

FC Nurnberg have a fairly good and balanced record at home against their rivals where they have seven wins, seven defeats and six draws.
Bayer Leverkusen can not afford any more slip ups and its about time for Stefan Kiessling to shine and to start scoring goals again. On the other side Nurnberg will be without their best striker who had scored half of the team`s total goals this season and that is a major blow. FC Nurnberg are tough nut to crack when playing at home, they will play very defensively and using counter-attacks as their main weapon.

Bayer Leverkusen will certainly have on mind the 1-1 draw that Bayern Munich were held to at this stadium and their current position at the table and that is why i expect Bayer Leverkusen to take this match seriously and bounce back quickly with another win.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

FC Nurnberg 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Away win for Bayer Leverkusen