Molde vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-04 19:00.
Following a 1-0 defeat against QarabaÄź in the opening UEFA Europa League (UEL) round, Molde have gone on to reach the Norwegian Cup final before keeping their forlorn title hopes alive with a 4-0 win against Viking FK in league action. Hopes will be high that they can build upon those five unanswered goals against Bayer Leverkusen, especially seeing as Molde are unbeaten in all but one of their clashes against German opponents (W3, D2).
That said, the bookmakers make Molde rank outsiders for a reason and that is likely due to the outstanding form of their visitors more than anything else. As far as the hosts are concerned, they’ve lost just one home game in the UEL since the beginning of 2016 (W10, D3), beating the likes of seven-time winners Sevilla and drawing 3-3 with Hoffenheim of the Bundesliga along the way.
Only the brave would back against Bayer Leverkusen putting another dent in that imperious home record, as they’re unbeaten in all eight of their competitive matches this season whilst scoring 32 goals along the way (W7, D1). That form has seen boss Xabi Alonso’s stock rise exponentially, so much so that he is being touted as the potential next Real Madrid manager when the opportunity arises.
They’ve similarly imperious against Norwegian opposition too, with Die Werkself boasting a 100% winning record without conceding a goal against such opponents across four historic encounters. This is Leverkusen’s sixth consecutive UEL appearance and after reaching the semi-final last time around, they seem the most likely to finish top of this group on what could be the road to the final in Dublin.
Players to watch: Molde’s Kristian Eriksen scored and assisted last weekend and played no small part in their journey to the group stage, finding the net twice during qualifying. He’ll have his work cut out to outdo Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface, the former Bodø/Glimt man who scored his very first senior goal against Molde and has averaged one goal per competitive appearance since his move to Leverkusen.
Hot stat: Leverkusen have kept just two clean sheets across their last 15 UEL away games (W8, D1, L6).