Quote from: Lidger on Today at 03:59:01 PM

Quote from: Renampun on August 18, 2025, 06:18:16 PM

Quote from: imamusma on August 17, 2025, 11:09:08 PM

Leverkusen will face Hoffenheim in their opening match of the season, and I think that's a match Leverkusen should be able to win easily. On paper, Leverkusen is the clear favorite, Hoffenheim is a mediocre team that almost got relegated last season. Therefore, I think this is a great opportunity for Ten Hag to secure his first win, which would help him gain a lot of support from the fans at BayArena. However, if an upset were to happen, Ten Hag would immediately face sharp criticism from the fans.

Logically, Leverkusen should have won this match more easily, since their ranking in the Bundesliga is higher than Hoffenheim’s. However, keep in mind that during their pre-season, Leverkusen were embarrassingly defeated by Flamengo’s U-20 team. That result shows it’s possible for Leverkusen to lose to Hoffenheim. or even if they were held to a draw by Hoffenheim, it would be quite embarrassing for them and ETH, since they played at their home ground.

Hoffenheim finished last season in 15th place out of 18 teams, while Leverkusen finished in second place in the points table, so Leverkusen should definitely win their first match of the German league and secure a big win. I think Leverkusen fans should not worry too much about these small matches, but should be more tense about the matches against their stronger teams. I don't have any confidence in the current manager's strategy, so until I see a big team against Leverkusen, I won't say that Leverkusen can perform well under this manager. If Leverkusen performs well against Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, Dortmund, they can achieve something good this season.

This match isn't big enough to test them. Therefore, a win is absolutely essential. I also expect them to score a lot of goals. If they drop any points, they'll start to give their fans pause in the first match of the season. The fans want to be in the title race they're used to this year. I hope the manager can keep Bayer Leverkusen in the race.