Bayer Leverkusen will expect to make it three wins from three Bundesliga matches when they host SV Darmstadt 98 on Saturday.
The visitors have lost both of their league games since sealing their promotion back to Germany's top flight.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having hugely improved following Xabi Alonso's appointment as manager last October, with the former Bayern Munich midfielder taking Leverkusen from the relegation zone into a Europa League qualification spot by the end of the campaign, Die Werkself have picked up where they left off with two impressive victories.
Following their 8-0 destruction of Teutonia Ottersen in the DFB-Pokal, Leverkusen defeated RB Leipzig 3-2 on the opening weekend, before claiming a 3-0 win away to Borussia Monchengladbach last time out.
New signing Victor Boniface, who cost around £20m to purchase from Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium, scored his first league goals for the club either side of Jonathan Tah's strike deep into injury-time. It was a hugely accomplished performance from Alonso's side, who enjoyed 60% of possession and recorded 11 shots on target at what has generally been one of the harder grounds to visit in Germany in recent years.
Despite losing star player Moussa Diaby to Aston Villa during the summer transfer window, Leverkusen have recruited incredibly smartly, with the likes of Nathan Tella, Granit Xhaka, Jonas Hofmann and Alejandro Grimaldo all bringing star quality to the club. As such, Alonso will be targeting Champions League qualification at the very least this season, whether through a league position or winning the Europa League (or indeed both).
In the meantime, though, they have one more fixture to focus on before September's international break, with anything less than a comfortable victory against Darmstadt almost certainly regarded as being a sub-par outcome on Saturday.
© Reuters
Indeed, Darmstadt's aspirations will be far more minimalistic for this campaign, as they seek to survive in the Bundesliga for only the second time in their history.
For the fourth time in the club's existence, Die Lilien achieved promotion to the Bundesliga after finishing second in the second tier last season, with a 21-match unbeaten run in the league ultimately rendering the fact that they ended up losing three of their last four games of the season meaningless with their primary objective secured.
Only one of their previous four seasons at this level has finished without an instant return to the second tier, which was when they finished 14th eight years ago. Despite fighting hard when losing 1-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt on the opening weekend, their 4-1 defeat to Union Berlin last time out painted a far bleaker picture in terms of their survival hopes.
While there is certainly no disgrace in losing to a team that will be competing in the Champions League this season, the fact that their opponents managed to score three goals without reply after Brenden Aaronson's 21st-minute dismissal is not a good sign for Darmstadt, especially given that they were competing on their own ground.
The fixture list has certainly not been kind to Torsten Lieberknecht's side early on given that they will face yet another side competing in European competition this season when visiting Leverkusen on Saturday, and it may be that they use the international break as a reset operation ahead of some kinder fixtures on the horizon.
Team News
© Reuters
Leverkusen will remain without Piero Hincapie and Amine Adli for one more match after their dismissals towards the end of last season, but both players will be available for selection again after the upcoming international break.
However, Patrik Schick is unlikely to recover from his groin injury until later in September, meaning that Boniface will continue to lead the line, with Hofmann and Florian Wirtz in close support.
Darmstadt, meanwhile, will travel without Alexander Brunst and Emir Karic due to shoulder and knee injuries respectively. Neither player is expected to return until early October.
Former Norwich City defender Christoph Zimmermann missed his side's 4-1 defeat to Union Berlin through illness, but he should be passed fit to resume at the heart of the visitors' defence this weekend.
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Boniface
SV Darmstadt 98 possible starting lineup:
Schuhen; Klarer, Zimmermann, Maglica; Nurnberger, Mehlem, Franjic, Holland; Manu, Honsak; Pfeiffer
We say: Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 SV Darmstadt 98
Despite losing Diaby, Leverkusen have scored six goals across their opening two victories, and they will fancy their chances of reaching double figures in the goals-scored column this weekend.
Darmstadt conceded four goals at home to Union Berlin despite having an extra player for the majority of the match, so they are seriously up against it to avoid receiving a beating from Alonso's side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
