Bayer Leverkusen vs Borussia Dortmund preview, team news, tickets, and prediction

Two former German Bundesliga champions, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, will battle for supremacy at the BayArena on May 11. 

It has been a different campaign for the two teams, and they might both be playing in the UEFA Champions League again next season. At the time of writing, Bayer Leverkusen are second on the log with 67 points from 31 games, while Dortmund are placed just outside the top four in sixth with 48 points from the same number of matches.

Leverkusen, defending champions of the Bundesliga, will most certainly lose the title to Bayern Munich in the coming days, but they have done well for themselves to keep things close. Xabi Alonso’s men were unbeaten as winners last year, and they have suffered just two defeats all season, but a return of 10 draws meant they were outpaced by the Bavarians. The Bundesliga title may be gone, but the season will be considered a success, largely as they are sure of a place in the UEFA Champions League next season.

The defending champions started the season with a 3-2 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach on the road, before they lost by the same scoreline to RB Leipzig to put an end to their long-standing unbeaten run. Alonso’s men then wrapped up three consecutive wins to bounce back before stalemates against Bayern Munich and Kiel in their next two games in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen returned to winning ways against Frankfurt before another back-to-back draw against Bremen and Stuttgart. Leverkusen eventually ended the year with eight consecutive wins across all competitions. They defeated the likes of Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, and Salzburg along the way.

2025 also kicked off with a couple of wins against Mainz, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Borussia Dortmund in the reverse fixture at the Signal Iduna Park. In the UCL, Leverkusen did well to reach the next round of the competition, and in the DFB Pokal, they knocked out Bayern Munich before being knocked out by Bielefeld in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich returned to avenge the cup defeat in the UCL, winning 5-0 on aggregate to move on. Since then, they have won twice and drawn twice in the Bundesliga. 

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund changed managers in the summer, with former Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin replacing Edin Terzin, who had been in charge for the previous two seasons. The Black and Yellows also lost Jadon Sancho after the expiration of his loan deal.

BVB made a decent start to the season under Sahin, who was having his managerial debut in a top-five league, after coaching Turkish Super Lig side Antalyaspor between 2021 and 2023. As stated earlier, Sahin had a great start to life after defeating Frankfurt I’m the reverse fixture. They then played out a goalless draw with Werder Bremen in their next game. Dortmund bounced back to winning ways with a 4-2 win against strugglers Heidenheim at the Signal Iduna Park. Unfortunately for them, they failed to take that performance to their next game against Stuttgart as they fell to an embarrassing 5-1 defeat.

The Black and Yellows won their next game against Bochum but lost to Union Berlin in the game that followed. Since then, Borussia Dortmund have picked up wins against St. Pauli, RB Leipzig, and Freiburg, but they lost to Mainz and Augsburg. Other poor defeats to Leverkusen, Kiel, Frankfurt, and Bologna in the UCL had Sahin lose his job. He was succeeded by Niko Kovac by the end of January. Results have just fared slightly, as they are trying to catch up with the rest of the teams in the Champions League places. Despite how the season has gone, BVB reached the quarterfinals of the UCL, where they were knocked out by Barcelona. Currently, Dortmund have won their past two games in the Bundesliga, and they are just three points off the final UCL spot. 

Fixtures involving these two teams usually deliver the goods, and it is expected that this encounter in Leverkusen will live up to the billing. With the kind of attacking talents that both teams have and the way both coaches set up, it promises to be a great game of football.

In terms of the head-to-head, from the past 43 games played between Leverkusen  and Dortmund, Leverkusen have won 13, Dortmund have won 20, and the remaining 10 games have been stalemates. 

Match tickets

The epic match at BayArena in Leverkusen will kick off at 14:30 GMT on Sunday, May 11th, 2025.

The 30,210-capacity stadium will host this league game between Leverkusen and Die Schwarzgelben.

Getting Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Dortmund tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels. 

Team news

Line-ups

Leverkusen and Alonso will most likely finish second this season. Skipper Jonathan Tah is confirmed to leave at the end of the season, so he might not get many chances. In terms of absentees, Martin Terrier, Mario Hermoso, and Jeanuël Belocian are out until the end of the season. In addition, Nordi Mukiele and Alejo Sarco are not expected back until the middle of May. 

Bayer Leverkusen XI: Kovář, Arthur, Alex Grimaldo, Tah, Tapsoba, Wirtz, Emi Buendía, Andrich, Xhaka, Schick, Tella.

Borussia Dortmund also have several players injured ahead of this game. Maximilian Beier is not expected back until late May, meaning his season is probably over. Pascal Groß is also out until June, Nico Schlotterbeck (October) and Marcel Sabitzer (mid May) as well. With the likes of Emre Can and Carney Chukwuemeka back to fitness, BVB do have some presence in midfield. 

Borussia Dortmund XI: Kobel, Svensson, Süle, Bensebaini, Ryerson, Anton, Nmecha, Can, Brandt, Bynoe-Gittens, Guirassy.

Prediction

As stated earlier, both teams have some exciting youngsters, who are deadly in front of goal. The way both managers setup, they also leave spaces behind for opponents to exploit. To catch this fixture, it is advised that you get Bayer Leverkusen tickets on time. 

Their head-to-head record shows that at least two goals have been scored in their past three meetings. Dortmund have won two of their last five meetings against Leverkusen’s solitary win. 

Considering the fact that Dortmund need the result more, they might just do well to inflict another home loss on the hosts. 

Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Borussia Dortmund