Roger Schmidt takes his Leverkusen side to Hannover on Saturday eager to break a run that has seen them pick up just two wins in eight games, slipping to sixth place in the process.
It doesn’t get much easier this weekend for them, as they face a Hannover side on the back of three consecutive wins, and that boasts one of the best home records in the country.
The international break has been a welcome one for Leverkusen, who can now welcome back Simon Rolfes and Gonzalo Castro to fitness after their respective injuries. Schmidt said of the two, “Gonzo and Simon have spent the entire two weeks training with the team and they've both made very good impressions,''
"It's very important to have them both back because with the likes of Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Stefan Reinartz out for a long time, we've had a few problems and often had to improvise”
However, the attacking quartet of Heung-Min Son, Karim Bellarabi, Robbie Kruse and Josip Drmic were all in action internationally in midweek, so will not be as fresh as Schmidt would want for this top six clash.
Tayfun Korkut will be hoping his side can pick up where they left off in Berlin, as they cruised to a 2-0 victory with Hiroshi Kiyotake particularly impressing. They can also welcome back captain Lars Stindl from injury, though the 26 year old will find it tough to break into a team on a three-game win streak, and Europe in their sights.
"I still don't know who is going to play,'' Korkut said. "Lars has a lot of quality and is a lead figure as our captain, but it also depends on who he has around him.''
Just two points separate the teams in the Bundesliga table, and a win for either side would send them into third place, though both managers would probably settle for a draw in what should be a tight clash. Marco Fritz will take charge of proceedings, and has shown 27 yellow cards in his 8 matches this season.
