Bundesliga 2023-24: Leader Leverkusen out to stretch winning run against Dortmund

Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten team has been impressive this season, having won 11 of its 12 league games so far and equalled the club record of eight consecutive league victories with an exciting brand of attacking football.

Leverkusen’s Argentinian midfielder Exequiel Palacios (R) celebrates with Leverkusen’s German midfielder Kerem Demirbay (L) after scoring/ | Photo Credit: AFP

League leader Bayer Leverkusen will look to extend its eight-game winning run in the Bundesliga when it hosts Borussia Dortmund on Sunday, eyeing a club record that will keep them in the title race’s driving seat.

Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten team has been impressive this season, having won 11 of its 12 league games so far and equalled the club record of eight consecutive league victories with an exciting brand of attacking football.

Last week’s 3-0 win at Werder Bremen also meant Leverkusen became the first club in Bundesliga history to score at least twice in each of its first 12 matches in a season.

Led by new transfers Alejandro Grimaldo and Victor Boniface, who have each seven goals in the league, Leverkusen has quickly emerged as a title contender.

A win over Dortmund would not only keep it in the top spot for at least another week but would put a serious dent in the Ruhr Valley club’s title hopes, with the team currently in fourth place on 24 points, 10 behind Leverkusen.

Dortmund, however, is fresh from its 3-1 win at AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday secured its spot in the knockout stage with a group match to spare.

But Dortmund has been shaky in the Bundesliga with just one win from its last four matches.

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“Leverkusen will be the toughest task there is in Germany at the moment,” said Dortmund defender Mats Hummels. “We have to hold our own.”

Bayern Munich, in second place two points behind Leverkusen, has an equally tricky task against Union Berlin even though it is also unbeaten so far in the Bundesliga.

The Berliners snapped a nine-game losing run in the league last week with a draw against Augsburg and has also kept its hope of a Europa League spot alive with a 1-1 draw at Braga in the Champions League on Wednesday.

What is almost certain is that Bayern will score, having done so in its last 63 consecutive home matches in the league having matched the club record set 49 years ago. Victory would also put it provisionally into the top spot.

Third-placed VfB Stuttgart, on 27 points, hosts Werder Bremen, while RB Leipzig, in fifth on 23, takes on Heidenheim on Saturday.