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Free pick for the Leverkusen-Düsseldorf semi final
It probably didn’t come as a big surprise to anyone, that Leverkusen is favorite, but maybe you shouldn’t write down Fortuna like that.
There is only one place left for rent in the Berlin final of the German Cup 2023/24 season. Bayer Leverkusen is applying for this with excellent chances, which is well illustrated by the fact that the money paid for it is only 1.03 times. On the other hand, Fortuna is given nearly 10 times the odds by the bookmakers, but let’s face it, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the second-tier team wins the match against Leverkusen, who haven’t lost in 11 months.
And on Saturday, for 87 minutes, it seemed that Bayer’s great march would be broken. However, the unprecedented streak in German professional football was not interrupted, but it became another victory, this was the 9th (!) time during the season that Alonso’s team tied or won a game after the 90th minute.
Leverkusen’s record this year is quite brilliant, 34 wins and five draws in 39 matches, with 111 goals scored and 31 conceded!
Another great news is that striker Victor Boniface, who scored 16 goals and 9 assists in 23 games before his injury, can be used again, but Exequiel Palacios, who has recovered, is also expected to not get many more playing minutes. Alonso will probably change the starter who triumphed against TSG at several points, Iglesias, Tella or Stanisic, who was then substituted, will also be able to start. Arthur is the only one who will definitely miss out, but there aren’t many injured for the visitors, Bunk and De Wijs cannot be used at Fortuna.
Dusseldorf have had a mixed run of form this season but still hold their position close to the fire. The team, which has been aspiring to return to the top since 2020, beat Lautern, who also played a big role in the cup, 3-1 on the road at the weekend, thus ahead of Hamburg and already in the 3rd place in the table. Interestingly, Daniel Thioune’s team does better when they are not playing in front of their own audience, both in the league and in the cup, where they have won all four corners away from Düsseldorf.
Xabi Alonso was able to lift the DFB Pokal trophy as a Bayern player in 2016, and he would repeat this now as a coach. With the elimination of his big rivals, there can be no question in principle that he will pull off this feat in his first full year in Leverkusen.
Bayer’s last big trophy was the cup, back in 1993, so a serious fast precedes the next cup.
Düsseldorf has not reached the final since 1980, since then it has been in the fourth division and the Bundesliga. Of course, it would be a huge surprise if Fortuna were to fight for another final through Leverkusen, who are running over everyone, we don’t even count on that.
One of the best decisions might be to bet on the Czech striker’s next goal ofor the pharmaceutical companies team. 28-year-old striker Schick, who returned from a minor injury in December, has found his old self again in recent weeks and is just sparkling in front of the store. He scored five goals in the last five matches, and all in the early stages of the game, when the bar was already vibrating properly. For another hit, we’ll get as much money as a -2 Asian Leverkusen success, so this time we’re going with the former.
