Ingolstadt and Bayer Leverkusen meet in what is very much a relegation scrap on Saturday afternoon, despite the fact that there is currently seven points separating the two sides.
Leverkusen have flirted with being sucked into the relegation mire for much of this season but they’ve rarely been as close as they are now. With just three games to go, the side who’re more associated with qualifying for Europe than battling for safety are just three points above the drop-zone and are in real danger of losing their place in the league. On the other hand, Ingolstadt have been among the chief candidates for relegation pretty much all season long and are now four points from safety with three games left; however, in recent weeks they’ve shown that they can compete and will surely fancy their chances against a visiting team who’ve looked all over the place of late.
In front of their own fans, Ingolstadt are fancied to give this a real go and, at the prices, are worth supporting. ‘Ingolstadt to Win’ and ‘Ingolstadt to Score Over 1.5 Goals’ are the two angles of attack.
It would be wrong to put too much of a positive spin on the home team’s efforts on their own patch this season, after all they do have the worst home form in the division, but they’ve shown both plenty of spirit and an ability to score goals in recent weeks – something that cannot be said for Leverkusen.
In their last five home games, Maik Walpurgis’ men have definitely turned a corner as far as goals are concerned and have found the net on no less than nine occasions, scoring at least twice in each of their last four at Audi Sportpark. They may yet go down, but it’s fair to say that they’re putting up a fight. During that time, the hosts secured wins over both Darmstadt and Mainz, while a draw (and a clean sheet) away to 2nd place Leipzig last time out is a result that will have boosted their confidence.
Speaking of confidence, there isn’t likely to be too much of it buzzing around the Leverkusen dressing room right now, especially after their abysmal performance against Schalke last time out. That 4-1 loss was a second defeat in quick succession after Tayfun Korkut’s men were beaten by Freiburg in their previous match, again without putting up too much of a fight. The visitors are now without a win in four and are rapidly slipping down the table.
The main catalyst here could be that Ingolstadt, despite the fact that they’re favourites to join the already relegated Darmstadt, have simply shown far more grit and determination than their opponents in recent weeks. Each time the visitors have taken to the field of late their performance seems to be a little bit more lacklustre.
Backing a side who’re second from bottom won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but, at the prices, the hosts are fancied to give themselves a fighting chance of survival by adding to the woes of a Leverkusen side who appear to sinking quickly.
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