Record against Leverkusen: Room for improvement
Overall: 93 games. 23 wins, 25 draws, 45 defeats. 118:167 goal difference.
In the Bundesliga: 88 games. 23 wins, 24 draws, 41 defeats. 113:156 goal difference.
Looking back: Winless last term
VfB battled to a goalless draw at the BayArena in the teams’ first league meeting of 2024/25 before suffering a 4-3 defeat in the second half of the campaign.
Aerial dominance: VfB’s solid defence
Stuttgart are the only Bundesliga club yet to concede a headed goal after 15 matchdays – the first time they have achieved that feat since comprehensive data collection began in 2004/05.
Strong start: Impressive record under Kasper Hjulmand
Leverkusen have collected 28 points from their 13 Bundesliga matches under Kasper Hjulmand, winning nine, drawing one and losing three. Bayern Munich are the only club in the division to have picked up more points in that time (35). The last coach to make a better start to their Leverkusen tenure was Sami Hyypiä, who had 31 points from his first 13 games back in 2013.
Easy on the eye: VfB and Bayer among best in the league with the ball
Leverkusen have not only averaged the second-most possession in the Bundesliga this season (60 percent), they also have the second-highest pass-per-game ratio (620). VfB are third in both those categories, having averaged 58 percent possession and 522 passes per game. Bayern are the only side in the German top flight to have enjoyed more possession (68 percent) and played more passes (725) than these two clubs.
Personnel: Several absentees
Tiago Tomas, Lazar Jovanovic, Noah Darvich, Jovan Milosevic, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Luca Jaquez are all out injured or working their way back from injury. Finn Jeltsch is a doubt with a back problem and Ameen Al-Dakhil will miss out due to illness.
Attendance: Away end sold out
VfB will be backed by around 3,000 supporters in their first away game of 2026.
