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Molde will invite Bayer Leverkusen to the Aker Stadion in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
The hosts fell to a 1-0 loss in their away game against Qarabag in their campaign opener last month. Leandro Andrade scored the only goal of the match in the 55th minute.
The visitors got their campaign underway with an impressive 4-0 home win over Hacken. Florian Wirtz and Amine Adli added two goals within six minutes in the first half while goals from Victor Boniface and Jonas Hofmann four minutes apart in the second half doubled their lead.
The hosts are unbeaten in their three games since the 1-0 defeat and recorded a 4-0 home win over Viking in the Eliteserien on Sunday. The visitors extended their unbeaten start to the 2023-24 season to eight games with a comfortable 3-0 win at Mainz in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Molde vs Bayer Leverkusen Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams will meet for the first time.
- The hosts have met German teams six times in European competitions thus far, recording three wins while suffering just one defeat.
- The visitors, meanwhile, have met just one Norwegian team in Europe, Rosenborg. They have a perfect record in four group-stage meetings against them, recording a 7-0 win on aggregate score.
- Molde have suffered just one defeat in their 14 home games in the Europa League.
- Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, have won three of their last four away games in the competition.
- The visitors have enjoyed a prolific run this season, scoring at least three goals in seven of the eight games thus far.
- The hosts are unbeaten in their last five meetings against German teams in European competitions.
Molde vs Bayer Leverkusen Prediction
Molde have suffered just one defeat in their last 14 home games in all competitions, recording 12 wins, and will look to make the most of their home advantage in this match.
They have scored in each of their three home meetings against German opponents thus far and will look to open their goalscoring account for the season.
Die Werkself have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season and are showing no signs of slowing down. Xabi Alonso's men have scored 18 goals in their last five competitive games while conceding just four times.
There are no major absentees for the visitors and a piece of good news is that Noah Mbamba and Timothy Fosu-Mensah have both reported back to training. Fosu-Mensah is still a few weeks away from match fitness while Mbamba might only be available for the Bundesliga match over the weekend.
The visitors have a 100% record in four meetings against a Norwegian team and, considering their current form, we expect them to record a comfortable win.
Prediction: Molde 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Molde vs Bayer Leverkusen Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Bayer Leverkusen to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the first half - Yes
Tip 4: Amine Adli to score or assist any time - Yes
