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Qarabag will welcome Bayer Leverkusen to the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie on Thursday (March 7th).
The home side are coming off a comfortable 4-1 away thrashing of Neftci Baku in the Azerbaijan Premier League. All five goals were scored in the second half, with Nariman Akhundzade and Leandro Andrade scoring either side of Toral Bayramov's brace to guide their side to victory.
Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, claimed a routine 2-0 away victory over FC Koln in the Bundesliga. Full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo scored in either half to help their side go 10 points clear of Bayern Munich at the summit of the table.
Xabi Alonso's side will now turn their focus to the continental competition and booked their spot in the knockout rounds courtesy of their top spot finish in Group H.
Qarabag, meanwhile, saw off Braga with a thrilling 6-5 aggregate victory in the playoff. They claimed a 4-2 home win in the first leg and followed it up with a 3-2 victory after extra-time in the second leg, despite being reduced to 10 men in the 57th minute.
Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two sides were drawn in Group H of this season's Europa League. Bayer Leverkusen claimed a 5-1 win at home and 1-0 win away en-route to finishing top of the group with maximum points.
- Bayer Leverkusen are unbeaten in 34 games in all competitions this season, winning 30 and drawing four games in this run (a German record).
- Qarabag have received 25 yellow cards in the Europa League this season, the second-most of any side in the competition.
- Leverkusen have won 13 of their last 14 away games, keeping a clean sheet on seven occasions
- Bayer Leverkusen have scored 2+ goals in 10 of their last 14 away games.
Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen
Qarabag are the first Azerbaijani side to participate in the round-of-16 of any UEFA competition and also have a 23-point lead in their league. However, they are coming up against one of the most fearsome sides on the continent (against whom they've already lost twice this season).
Bayer Leverkusen continued their impressive campaign over the weekend, opening up a double-digit lead at the summit as they seek a maiden Bundesliga crown. They will be expected to ease through this tie into the last eight although Xabi Alonso is unlikely to allow his team let their guard down.
We are backing the visitors to claim a comfortable victory in addition to a clean sheet.
Prediction: Qarabag 0-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Bayer Leverkusen to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score: No
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 4 - Bayer Leverkusen to score over 1.5 goals
