Teams Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund played so far 51 matches

With the title race over and Champions League football guaranteed for next season, Bayer Leverkusen have nothing to play for in the remaining rounds. The same can’t be said about Borussia Dortmund, who are one step away from saving one of their worst Bundesliga seasons.

Bayer Leverkusen conceded the title when they failed to beat Freiburg last week. Their position as the runners-up is also guaranteed, so Die Werkself can play for fun. The only notable reason for them to push harder than necessary in the last couple of games is that these will be Xabi Alonso’s last two matches as Leverkusen’s manager.

On the other end, Borussia Dortmund are just one point away from Champions League football, after a season where reaching Europe seemed like a mirage. BVB are the only team that boasts four wins in the last five rounds and their performance in attack has been phenomenal. Dortmund scored 16 goals in their last five Bundesliga games.

Playing Bayer Leverkusen in the penultimate round is hardly what any team would want, but a positive result here and a win over now-relegated Holstein Kiel in the final round could be enough to send Niko Kovac’s team back to the Champions League.

Apart from the last few seasons, Bayer Leverkusen have always struggled against Borussia Dortmund. But in their Championship season last year, they couldn’t beat them once. Xabi Alonso’s side managed to win the reverse fixture in January, but that was a bad period for BVB and they are a much different side now. From a more long-term point of view, both sides won four of the last 10 H2Hs each.

Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky, Hincapie, Tapsoba, Tah, Grimaldo, Xhaka, Andrich, Frimpong, Wirtz, Schick, Adli.

Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Bensebaini, Anton, Sule, Svensson, Can, Gross, Ryerson, Adeyemi, Brandt, Guirassy.