Bongarts
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
BAYER LEVERKUSEN  Leno Castro, Friedrich, Toprak, Kadlec Bender, Rolfes Sam, Ballack, Schurrle Kiessling | HAMBURG  Drobny Diekmeier, Bruma, Westermann, Aogo Gokhan Tore, Rincon, Kacar, Jansen Guerrero, Berg |
Leverkusen captain Simon Rolfes is set to return to the starting line-up after spending last week's encounter with Freiburg on the bench. Michael Ballack should be fit to start despite playing in midweek vesus Valencia with a mask to protect his broken nose.
Slobodan Rajkovic will sit this match out after his red card in last week's 1-1 home draw against Kaiserslautern, while Mladen Petric will be missing for the next month after sustaining a thigh strain in training last week. The Croatian's absence will allow Marcus Berg to continue up front along side Paolo Guerrero, while Deikmeier will step in for Rajkovic.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- Bayer Leverkusen have not lost any of their last four games against Hamburg, however,
they have only won one of their previous six clashes with Torsten Fink's side at the BayArena.
- The hosts have collected the most red cards in the Bundesliga this season (three), while their opponents top the table for yellow cards, having collected 29 bookings so far.
- The BayArena club are the only team to have reached a Champions League final but to never have won their domestic league.
- Hamburg midfielder Gokhan Tore represented Leverkusen at various levels for 10 years, before departing for Chelsea.
- Torsten Fink's men have a marginally better record in this fixture, winning 25 games to Levekursen's 22.
- Wolfgang Rolff, who won the 1983 European Cup with Hamburg, went on to make 99 Bundesliga appearances for Bayer Leverkusen, scoring nine goals in the process.
Prediction
Hamburg have taken steps back in the right direction after their disasterous start to the season, but Leverkusen are still a cut above Torsten Fink's side. I'd expect the hosts to triumph, but it will be a tighter affair than some would assume.
Editor's Prediction
Leverkusen 2-1 Hamburg 
