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That's all for tonight then! Thanks for choosing to follow the match with VAVEL, which ended with Leverkusen comfortably overcoming a 1-0 deficit from the first leg. I've been Ameé Ruszkai and stayed tuned for the match report to follow!

As for tonight - FC Astana won 2-1 over both legs against Apoel, CSKA Moscow overturned a 2-1 deficit in the first leg against Sporting Lisbon to win 4-3 on aggregate; Manchester United emphatically won 4-0 against Club Brugge to take the tie 7-1; and Partizan Belgrade crashed out on away goals after a 2-2 draw with BATE Borisov over two legs.

Dinamo Zagreb defeated Skenderbeu Korce yesterday 4-1, 6-2 on aggregate to progess; Maccabi Tel Aviv went through on away goals with a 3-3 draw over two legs with FC Basel; Malmo FF won 2-0 at home to Celtic to emerge as 4-3 winners; Valencia's 3-1 first leg win meant they qualified despite a 2-1 defeat away to Monaco in the second leg; and Shakhtar Donetsk won 3-2 on aggregate against Rapid Wien.

A quick round-up of the Champions League qualifiers then...

It was a wonderful performance by the Germans, with the scoreline reflecting their dominace - especially in the second half. Lazio could have won it had they taken some early chances, but they were punished for missing these in the end and will have to settle for Europa League football this season.

Full time! The referee blows his whistle with the score at 3-0 in Leverkusen's favour. They are through to the Champions League group stage with a 3-1 victory on aggregate.

90 - Three added minutes as Leverkusen play the final stages out as they have spent the whole second half - in Lazio's defensive third. Ramalho hits the target from distance.

89 - That is Bellarabi's last action as he is replaced by Ramalho.

After that dangerous attack by Lazio, a long ball foward it flicked on by Bellarabi to Brandt, who races through before squaring to his unmarked teammate to tap home and seal the win.

88 - GOAL! Papadopoulos makes a marvellous tackle to thwart Keita as he looks to break through, and Bellarabi goes down the other end and makes it three!

86 - Free-kick in a promsing position for Lazio produces a corner and Leverkusen clear. A goal will win it for the 10-men visitors.

84 - Kruse looks for Brandt, but de Vrij intercepts his cut-back to force a corner. This comes to nothing. Leverkusen still on the front foot, with Lazio having done little to nothing in this second half.

82 - Onazi off Morrison on. Lazio have eight minutes left to find a goal to save their Champions League hopes.

80 - Çalhanoğlu off for Kruse. Superb showing by the midfielder, but looks to have picked up a knock.

79 - Another corner for Leverkusen ends with Brandt lashing an effort from the edge of the box at goal, this one high and wide.

77 - Good work from Brandt as he wins a corner for his side, before lashing a scuffed shot at goal from the resulting set piece.

74 - Tension growing now as Lazio become frustrated with the game, with Parolo and Lulic both going into the book. Meanwhile, Leverkusen make a change as Brandt comes on for Mehmedi.

70 - Gentiletti has to come on for Felipe Anderson after that, with the team chasing the game forced to make a defensive change.

68 - Red card! Mauricio is off for a second yellow! Completely wipes out Kießling and now his team have to find a goal in the next 20 minutes with 10 men.

67 - Wendell booked for timewasting.

66 - Lazio had a few offsides against them as they look to get back into the game, with them unable to really threaten as a result. At the other end, Bellarabi's effort deflects just wide and the corner is wasted.

In and amongst all that Leverkusen pressure, Kishna replaced Radu as Lazio look to add an attacking threat.

61 - Resulting free kick is taken by Çalhanoğlu and deflected behind for a corner. Wendell whips in the resulting set piece and Bender knocks it wide at the near post.

60 - Mauricio booked for a foul in the air on Kießling.

58 - Ambitious effort from Wendell forces Berisha into a routine save.

53 - Bender strikes a loose ball from the edge of the box that Berisha has to tip over the bar. Leverkusen all over the Italians now and could put the tie to bed soon if they can find a goal to mark the spell.

51 - One-two with his teammate sees Çalhanoğlu break through but he can only fire at Berisha from an angle.

Leno's clearance sees Bellarabi get on the ball and pick out Mehmedi who emphatically finds the roof of the net after racing through on goal!

48 - And just like that it's two! Goal for Leverkusen!

Second half underway!

That's half-time! Leverkusen lead 1-0, a score that, if it remains, will take the game to extra time. Albeit, it is the only score that can do so.

43 - Çalhanoğlu fires his free-kick from 30 yards over the bar.

Good build up by Leverkusen sees Kießling's cut back blocked, but Çalhanoğlu is there at the back post to convert the rebound and level the tie on aggregate.

40 - GOAL! 1-0 Leverkusen, Çalhanoğlu with the goal.

31 - Bellarabi, on a determined dribble, takes on several players after picking the ball up in his own half, but he lashes his eventual effort wide from distance.

28 - Keita, very isolated, makes something for himself at the other end, but can only find the arms of Leno with a shot from a difficult angle.

26 - Papadopoulos comes close now after Bellarabi's shot was deflected behind for a corner. The Greek defender connects with Wendell's delivery but he can't get enough on it as his header goes wide.

25 - Kießling hits the bar! Great cross by Kramer, but the striker can only glance his header onto the woodwork.

20 - Big anti-climax as the free-kick is cleared effectively by Leverkusen.

19 - End to end stuff here as Çalhanoğlu's deflected's effort is saved well by Berisha whilst Wendell blocks off Felipe Anderson on the break, and Lazio now have a free-kick in a good position for a dangerous delivery.

17 - Çalhanoğlu fires a fierce shot just over the bar from 25 yards.

10 - Çalhanoğlu has two efforts blocked after some sharp build up play by Leverkusen.

7 - Bellarabi drills the ball across the face of goal but no one can get a touch on it as it fizzes out for a goal-kick.

4 - Just as I say that! Lazio with a huge chance as Keita capitalises on a defensive error by Tah, only for a scramble in the box to end with Leno diving on the ball after a series of blocks by his defenders.

3 - Candreva fouled by Bellarabi. Little of note so far after a slow start.

We're underway!

With there still some time yet before kick-off, check out the preview of tonight's game here!

It's certainly a brave move for the visitors to play with a vulnerable defensive formation as they look to defend a slender lead. Leverkusen's creative talent will be confident of exposing this naivity, especially at home.

Lazio subs: Milinkovic-Savic, Gentiletti, Cataldi, Guerrieri, Konko, Kishna, Morrison.

Leverkusen subs: Boenisch, Donati, Ramalho, Kruse, Seung-Woo, Brandt, Kresic.

There's a change going forward too, with Kishna out and Felipe Anderson in. The former Ajax man drops to the bench.

As for Lazio, they have opted for a 3-4-3 set up, not the expected 4-3-3, with Basta and Lulic playing wing-back roles. Mauricio comes into the back three as a result, with Ogenyi Onazi and Parolo the midfield duo.

At the back, Papadopoulos comes in for Ramalho, perhaps with the manager keeping an eye on Saturday's clash with Bayern Munich.

A few big talking points regarding the line-ups then. Firstly, Son does not start for Leverkusen, amidst speculation of a €30 million move to Tottenham Hotspur. Mehmedi replaces him, after a lively performance against Hannover at the weekend.

Lazio XI (3-4-3): Berisha; Mauricio, de Vrij, Radu; Basta, Onazi, Parolo, Lulic; Candreva, Keita, Felipe Anderson.

Leverkusen XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Hilbert, Tah, Papadopoulos, Wendell; Bender, Kramer; Çalhanoğlu, Mehmedi, Bellarabi; Kießling.

Line-ups have been announced, here we are....

Predicted Lazio XI: (4-3-3) Berisha; Basta, de Vrij, Gentiletti, Radu; Parolo, Milinkovic-Savic, Lulic; Candreva, Keita, Kishna.

Predicted Bayer Leverkusen XI: (4-2-3-1) Leno; Hilbert, Tah, Ramalho, Wendell; Bender, Kramer; Bellarbi, Çalhanoğlu, Son; Kießling.

Marchetti will not be fit to return in goal, meaning Etrit Berisha will keep his place in between the sticks, but the weekend's defence should remain, with Dusan Basta on the right, Stefan de Vrij and Santiago Gentiletti the central duo, and Radu on the left.

Alongside Senad Lulic and Marco Parolo, either Danilo Cataldi or new signing Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will come into the team in middle of the park to replace Biglia.

Lazio, on the other hand, face fresh injury concerns heading into this game, namely in Biglia's absence. The front three from the Bologna win is expected to remaing the same, however, the team lining up in a 4-3-3 formation with Kishna, Antonio Candreva and Keita forming a deadly forward line, despite the absences of Klose and Djordjevic.

However, with Bayern Munich awaiting them on Saturday afternoon at the Allianz Arena, manager Roger Schmidt may opt for more than the two anticipated changes, with Kyriakos Papadopoulos' return to the starting XI possible, though Ramalho, who he would be most likely to replace in the heart of defence, played well against Hannover and may have earned another start this evening as a result.

Christoph Kramer and Bender sit behind these three in midfield, offering protection to a back four of Roberto Hilbert, summer arrival Jonathan Tah, Andre Ramalho and Wendell, whilst Bernd Leno assumes his position in between the sticks.

That starting line-up saw them set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Kießling, in good form after two goals in his first three domestic games of the new season, the lone striker, whilst Brandt, Çalhanoğlu and Admir Mehmedi lined up behind him, looking to supply him with the service necessary for him to score goals - Son and Bellarbi will be expected to come in for Brandt and Mehmedi, with Çalhanoğlu remaining.

With Leverkusen's setbacks long-term and already recognised, one would expect them to stick with the majority of the team that defeated Hannover 1-0 at the weekend, with Aranguiz having not yet played for the club, whilst Toprak and Jedvaj have not this season either, though Karim Bellarbi and Heung-Min Son are set to return after being rested on Saturday especially for this fixture.

Biglia will be absent after suffering a calf injury in that win over Bologna at the weekend and Filip Djordjevic is still sidelined, whilst German striker Miroslav Klose has been dubbed as "highly unlikely," via ESPN, to play in this match, according to manager Stefano Pioli, the goal-scorer suffering from a hamstring problem sustained during the first leg, which resulted in him being substituted at half time.

Lazio also have a number of players who will miss this second leg through injury, with goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, who missed the first leg of this tie as he recovers from two broken ribs, just one of four absentees.

As well as this, Tim Jedvaj is still out having suffered an injury in pre-season and missed all four of his side's games so far, whereas new signing Charles Aránguiz was ruled out for a number of months last week, rupturing his achilles tendon just days after he signed from Internazionale.

Neither team will bring a full strength squad into this big match, however, with plenty of injuries plaguing both sides. For Leverkusen, they will be without three first team players, one of them a long-term absentee in Ömer Toprak, who is not expected to return until after the winter break having torn a thigh ligament at the beginning of the month.

However, as for their league campaign, Lazio played their first game of that at the weekend, at home to newly-promoted Bologna. Lucas Biglia put them ahead after just 17 minutes, before new boy Ricardo Kishna doubled this lead seven minutes later, but Matteo Mancosu pulled one back for the visitors just before half time to ensure a nervy second period for the hosts. Yet, they came through this, taking all three points with a 2-1 victory.

Lazio, on the other hand, started their campaign with defeat at the beginning of this month in the Supercoppa, losing 2-0 to Juventus. They were runners-up in the Coppa Italia last year, with Juve the winners, so they faced the Serie A champions by default, but goals from new signings Mario Mandžukić and Paulo Dybala meant the Old Lady came out on top once more.

A trademark Çalhanoğlu free-kick then ensured three points at the weekend over Hannover, with him executing another set piece with his expected precision in the 18th minute to ultimately ensure three points on the road.

In the Bundesliga, Leverkusen have started with two wins from two games, beating a tricky opponent in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim before just edging out Hannover 96 the following week. They came from behind to win the former match, Steven Kuber putting Hoffenheim ahead but Kießling equalising, before Julian Brandt completed the turnaround with less than 20 minutes to go, winning the game with a clinical finish.

They kicked things off with a 3-0 victory in the DFB-Pokal against fourth tier side Sportfreunde Lotte on the road. Stefan Kießling opened the scoring after 15 minutes, and this was followed by two second half penalties; the first converted by Hakan Çalhanoğlu and the second by Lars Bender, with Lotte's Tim Gorschlüter sent off for conceding the latter in the 76th minute.

The German side come into this match in great form too, having won all three of their domestic games so far this season - that defeat to Lazio last week their only loss of the new campaign.

Lazio come into the match with a 1-0 advantage from their home leg, a very slender lead that they only established late on in the game thanks to second half substitute Balde Keita. On top of this, the only goal of the game came from a defensive error committed by Leverkusen in the 77th minute, and the Germans dominated the game overall, with the Italians underwhelming incredibly, especially in front of their own fans. As a result, Leverkusen will be confident that they can overturn this deficit at the BayArena tonight.

Hello and welcome to VAVEL's live coverage of tonight's Champions League play-off second leg between German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Italian Serie A outfit Lazio. My name is Ameé Ruszkai and I'll be taking you through the events of tonight's game, which kicks off at 1945BST.

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About the author
Ameé Ruszkai
Head of the Sunderland, Swansea City and women football sections at VAVEL UK. Email: [email protected]