Leverkusen vs Monchengladbach Prediction 18 January 2025

🔊 Will the "Aspirins" continue to dominate through their offense? In the 18th round of the Bundesliga, Bayer will host Borussia from Gladbach. It is predicted that the current German champions will systematically create goal-scoring opportunities. The visitors will try to respond with counterattacks. However, the difference in class is too great - the Leverkusen team is capable of scoring as much as they want. The "BayArena" is expecting another victory for its favorites.

📊 HEAD-TO-HEAD

The last head-to-head match ended with a hard-fought 3:2 victory for Bayer. In 3 of the last 5 meetings, the "Aspirins" scored 3 goals against Borussia.

🔴 BAYER

Xabi Alonso's team continues to fight for the championship title, not making any slip-ups since early November. Recently, they managed to deal with Mainz (1:0). Before that, there was a hard-earned victory over Dortmund (3:2). We understand that the hosts will continue to pursue their strategy, preferring to act offensively. This is possible even despite Boniface's recent injury. Wirtz and company are crafting very interesting combinations, resulting in the reigning champions having 4.35 goal-scoring chances per game. The effectiveness of their offense is also off the charts: 9.1 goals more than the advanced xG statistics suggested. A potential problem for the "Aspirins" could be Gladbach's counterattacks. Even in victories, Leverkusen often concedes (1.35). However, looking at past head-to-head encounters, the champions should easily compensate for difficulties near their goal.

⚫ BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH

Gladbach is far from being in their best form. The start of 2025 has not been favorable for the team: defeats to Bayern (0:1) and Wolfsburg (1:5). The recent clash with the "Wolves" showed that Borussia has a number of systemic problems that they will not be able to overcome against Bayer. The visitors allow their opponents too many shots - an average of 29 times. They will have to offset difficulties on their half with offense. Talking about control is out of the question. They need to switch to counterattacks. On average, Borussia scores 1.53 goals per match. Their attack relies on a forward like Kleindienst (9 goals). Before the new year, Borussia successfully played against Hoffenheim (2:1) and Holstein (4:1). But even in those games, they failed to keep a clean sheet. A trip to the reigning champions does not imply a "clean sheet" either.

⚽️ GOAL PREDICTION

Leverkusen is one of the best teams in the Bundesliga in terms of goals scored - averaging 2.35 per match. We understand that their usual statistics for possession (60.4%) will remain. As practice shows, possession under Alonso's team always leads to shots - averaging 30.59 per match. Considering that Gladbach concedes 1.53 goals, we can anticipate significant success for the "Aspirins" in offense. Undoubtedly, Borussia is capable of executing a successful counterattack, but the hosts' game structure appears more fundamental. Our editorial team finds it logical to bet on Bayer's total over 2 goals.

🚩 CORNER PREDICTION

Since the hosts will control the ball most of the time, it is from them that we should expect an abundance of set pieces. On average, the "Aspirins" take 6.94 corners per match. Gladbach is average in this component. Additionally, it is unclear how successfully and often they will be able to execute counterattacks. On average, 4.88 corners are taken at Borussia's goal. Considering the difference in class, we suggest trying a bet on Bayer's total corners over 6.

📝 EDITORIAL PREDICTION

Bookmakers favor the hosts. Gladbach is a team capable of unsettling any opponent, including Bayern. But when it comes to earning points, Borussia usually falls short against top opponents due to a lack of class and psychology. Bayer, on the other hand, is capable of taking possession from anyone. Alonso's team loves to attack and doesn't stop even when the outcome is predetermined. Possibly, initially, the visitors will defend well, but a goal from the champions is just a matter of time. Once the game opens up, there could be significantly more goals scored. We anticipate that this encounter will end with a score of 4:1. A good choice seems to be a bet on Bayer to win with a handicap (-1.5).