Bayer Leverkusen are currently embroiled in a fierce battle for the Champions League places and the fourth-placed side will be looking to return to winning ways when they face Greuther Furth on Saturday.
The hosts, meanwhile, prop up the Bundesliga table with just 17 points to their name, and there is the possibility that they could be relegated this weekend.
Match preview
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Greuther Furth know that a win is a must on Saturday, and that might not even be enough for them to avoid relegation if results elsewhere do not go their way.
Although their relegation has not yet been confirmed, the writing has been on the wall for the majority of the season, especially as the Kleeblatter had just five points to their name at the turn of the year.
In 2022, three teams have picked up fewer points than Furth, but their struggles in the first half of the season have left Saturday's hosts with too much work to do.
With three points required against Champions League chasing Leverkusen, their recent form will offer little inspiration to Stefan Leitl's side, who are winless in their last eight matches, although three of their last four have ended all square.
A defence that has conceded more goals (72) than any other team in the Bundesliga this season will come under pressure when it is put under scrutiny by a Leverkusen side that are currently the third-highest scorers in the league.
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Like their hosts, Leverkusen will also be eyeing a victory as they look to keep hold of their top-four spot, with Freiburg just a point behind ahead of the weekend's round of fixtures.
Die Werkself lost out in a crucial contest last weekend, as RB Leipzig edged out Leverkusen courtesy of a Dominik Szoboszlai strike, which helped Die Roten Bullen leapfrog their opponents into third place.
Despite sitting in fourth position, Die Werkself know they can ill-afford to drop points on Saturday, with Freiburg hot on their heels, although two wins from their last eight matches in all competitions suggest that they will need to up their game to collect three points on Saturday.
The visitors will also be aware that they will face an uphill task if they concede first against Furth, as they are yet to win in the league this season when their opponents have scored the first goal.
Gerardo Seoane's side can take inspiration from the fact that they currently hold the third-best away record in the Bundesliga, while only Borussia Dortmund have netted more away league goals than Leverkusen.
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Team News
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Marco Meyerhofer is expected to miss the rest of the season due to an ankle injury, while a calf problem will prevent Paul Seguin from featuring on Saturday.
Jeremy Dudziak and Max Christiansen are also likely to miss out, and Furth will also have to cope without the services of Maximilian Bauer, who is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Furth will be looking towards their captain to provide the goals, with Branimir Hrgota set to lead the line for the Kleetbatter as he bids to add to his eight-goal league tally for the season.
Like their hosts, Leverkusen also have a long injury list, with Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Amine Adli all unavailable for the visitors.
Piero Hincapie and Robert Andrich will also miss out due to an accumulation of yellow cards, which could mean that Paulinho and Karim Demirbay are given starting berths.
Patrik Schick, meanwhile, has featured in Leverkusen's last three matches since returning from an injury layoff, but the Czech Republic international has failed to find the net in any of those three contests, and he will be hoping to return to goalscoring form when he lines up against Furth on Saturday.
Greuther Furth possible starting lineup:
Linde; Griesbeck, Viergever, Itter; Asta, Green, Raschl, Tillman, Willems; Leweling, Hrgota
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba, Bakker; Palacios, Aranguiz; Diaby, Demirbay, Paulinho; Schick
We say: Greuther Furth 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen thrashed the Kleebatter 7-1 in the reverse fixture, and although we do not expect the scoreline on Saturday to be as eye-catching, we think the visitors have enough quality in their ranks to condemn Furth to defeat.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bayer Leverkusen win with a probability of 64.63%. A draw had a probability of 19.6% and a win for Greuther Furth had a probability of 15.73%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayer Leverkusen win was 0-2 with a probability of 10.31%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.9%) and 0-1 (9.59%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.2%), while for a Greuther Furth win it was 2-1 (4.41%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 3.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Bayer Leverkusen would win this match.
