Bayer Leverkusen host Portuguese giants Benfica tonight in what already is billed as a must win game for Roger Schmidt’s men, if they want to qualify from the group stages.
The early pacesetters in the Bundesliga have trailed off in the last couple of games, their defeat in Monaco sandwiched between just five points in four league games, including a 4-1 loss to Wolfsburg.
That loss to Monaco was not a welcome one, they dominated the game in the first half – failing to hit the target with all nine attempts – before a deflected Moutinho shot put them to the sword, a shot that turned out to be their only one on target in the game.
Group C is one that is tipped to go to the wire, Zenit are now favourites after going to Lisbon and winning 2-0, and with Schmidt’s men playing them in the next two games, they will not want to be too far behind them.
Schmidt is well aware of the importance of Wednesday’s game though, stating, "We want to put ourselves into a decent position going into the coming games and, if we do get three points, then that would leave everything open for us," he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"Not only do we want to play well, but we also want to win."
That won’t be easy, Benfica are last years Europa League runners-up, and are veterans of European competition. They also triumphed in this competition over Leverkusen just two years ago, when they ran out 3-1 aggregate winners in the Round of 16, winning 1-0 in the BayArena before a 2-1 victory at home.
Both sides have relatively strong squads to pick from, the home side are only missing Boenisch and Castro, while Spahic should feature despite his domestic ban. The Eagles rested goalkeeper Julio Cesar on the weekend, while Talisca and Samaris were brought off with 30 minutes remaining, so will benefit from being fresher than their opponents.