When Bayer Leverkusen take on Schalke 04 at the weekend, it will be – to use a much quoted football cliché – a classic six-pointer.
Unlike in most other cases though, when a six-pointer describes a relegation battle, this one is all about finishing in the Bundesliga top four and grabbing a share of the Champions League millions.
Frankfurt’s surprise 2-1 victory against Leipzig on Monday saw both Leverkusen and Schalke lose some ground, with Leverkusen now fourth on 38 points, while Schalke, who are sixth, have just a pointless.
But with just three points separating second-placed Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, a defeat for either side will be a serious set-back in their Champions League aspirations.
A victory, on the other hand, will be all the sweeter though as it will be achieved against a direct rival.
Leverkusen is certainly one of the in-form teams at the moment, having won three and drawn one of their last five league games and also advanced to the German Cup semi-final, where they will face Bayern Munich at home.
In 20-year-old Leon Bailey Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich has arguably the best player in Germany at the moment at his disposal.
The Jamaican-born midfielder, who scored one of the goals that gave Leverkusen a 2-1 victory at SV Hamburg on the weekend, has been so impressive that England coach Gareth Southgate is said to be considering including Bailey in his World Cup squad.
Herrlich though, is sweating over the availability of Brazilian defender Wendell, who was taken off with an injury early on against Hamburg, with Leverkusen releasing a statement saying that the player has a foot injury which is likely to see him miss the game against Schalke.
Schalke manager Christian Heidel meanwhile, has been singing Bailey’s praises. “It is enjoyable to watch him play. He is a super footballer. Hopefully that will not be the case on Sunday.
“We are clearly going to Schalke to prevent Leverkusen from extending their lead over us. We are not going there to be scared like a rabbit facing a snake, just because Leverkusen have a point more. Our record away from home (4 wins, 3 draws, 4 defeats) shows that we are capable of doing that.”
Sunday’s match at the BayArena is this week’s Bundesliga highlight and will be shown live at 16:30 CAT on the World Football channel of StarTimes.
The broadcaster’s Media Division Sports Director Cole He Xin, whose company not only shows Bundesliga matches live, but also the World Cup finals, said as the season was drawing to a close, clubs have even more to play for.
“With Bayern having a 19-point lead at the top, I think most fans will accept that clubs behind them are chasing second place and that battle is as close as it has seldom been before, with just the three points between second-placed Dortmund and Schalke.
“That, of course, ensures that the match between Leverkusen and Schalke has all the ingredients of yet another top-class Bundesliga game and I am especially pleased that we are able to bring these games live to football fans throughout Africa.”
StarTimes
StarTimes is the leading digital-TV operator in Africa, serving nearly 10 million subscribers with a signal covering the whole continent and a massive distribution network of 200 brand halls, 3,000 convenience stores and 5,000 distributors. StarTimes owns a featured content platform, with 480 authorized channels consisting of news, movies, series, sports, entertainment, children’s programs, etc. The company’s vision is “To ensure that every.
African family can access, afford, watch and share the beauty of digital TV”. StarTimes achieves this by combining satellite and terrestrial DTV systems to provide an open and secure digital wireless platform. The company provides a robust signal transmission service for public and private broadcasters, offers consumers outstanding Pay-TV programs, mobile multimedia, wireless Internet connectivity and convenient online services including checking TV guide; watching free live football; chatting with celebrities and friends.