Leverkusen looking for first win at Spurs
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will be looking to build on Saturday's victory over VfL Wolfsburg as they go in search of a first victory in this year's UEFA Champions League at Tottenham Hotspur FC on Wednesday (kick-off 20:45CET/19:45GMT).
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Just how Leverkusen have failed to win a game in this year's Champions League is a bit of a mystery. Leading 2-0 after 15 minutes against PFC CSKA Moskva, they were pegged back before half-time and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Two weeks later, at AS Monaco FC, it took an injury-time stunner from Kamil Glik to rescue a point for the hosts, while excellent goalkeeping from Tottenham's Hugo Lloris kept Die Werkself at bay last time out.
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A week ago, the wheels looked like they might be coming off for Roger Schmidt's side, after successive defeats in the Bundesliga were followed by a DFB Cup exit at the hands of third-tier Sportfreunde Lotte. However, Leverkusen rallied at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday, inflicting a fifth Bundesliga defeat of the season on Wolfsburg.
Boosted by that success, they will now be hoping to secure their first victory in Champions League Group E, which is looking remarkably open after three Matchdays. Only three points separate the four teams, with Monaco (5) leading Spurs (4), Bayer (3) and CSKA (2). Having failed to win their last five group games last season, Leverkusen are now determined to snap an eight-match winless streak in the competition.
Not only would victory at Wembley Stadium enable Leverkusen to leapfrog Spurs, it would also give them a shot in the arm ahead of Saturday's Bundesliga meeting with struggling SV Darmstadt 98. Die Lilien have only won twice in the league this season.
Roger Schmidt will once again be relying on Javier Hernandez to get the job done against Spurs, who have not won in five competitive outings. If the Mexican magician can find his shooting boots on Wednesday, Leverkusen could even find themselves top of the pile with two games to go.