Will Hjulmand celebrate his second win in a row?
Kasper Hjulmand celebrated a successful debut as coach of Werkself, securing a 3-1 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt despite being two men down. In the FC Copenhagen vs. Leverkusen tip, the 53-year-old is heading straight for his next success as B04 coach.
The new man on the sidelines of the Bundesliga club is hardly used to regular match action. Before his time as national coach of the Danish team, Hjulmand was in charge of the Danish first division club Nordsjaelland. Back in Denmark, we are predicting a second win in a row for the 53-year-old in the FC Copenhagen vs. Leverkusen prediction.
The Werkself may have sent a small thank you to Brøndby after last weekend. The current fourth-placed team in the Danish Superligaen defeated Copenhagen 2-1, forcing Byens Hold to relinquish their place at the top of the table.
Considering the FC Copenhagen vs. Leverkusen betting odds, the home side is facing a second competitive defeat in a row. B04 travels to Parken Stadium as slight favorites with odds of just over 2.00. A critical factor for our bet is the Werkself’s negative streak of three consecutive lost CL away games.
This losing streak hardly concerns us in our analysis of the FC Copenhagen vs. Leverkusen odds. Bayer achieved a positive result last weekend and is on the road to recovery after a short but critical phase under former coach Erik ten Hag.
In addition, the reigning Bundesliga runners-up already got used to the level of the Champions League last season, winning five out of ten appearances in Europe’s strongest competition.
FC Copenhagen vs. Leverkusen AI prediction
Similar to our assessment, the artificial intelligence BETSiE discovers value in the FC Copenhagen vs. Leverkusen AI prediction “Leverkusen win” at odds of 2.20. While the best bookmakers give the visitors a 45 percent chance of winning, BETSiE gives Hjulmand’s team a slightly higher than 56 percent chance of victory. In addition, the AI has calculated 2.55 goals for the match.
FC Copenhagen – Statistics & current form
Jacob Neestrup is living his dream in Copenhagen. The 37-year-old has been in charge of the Danish record champions since September 2022. From 151 competitive games, the former youth coach of Byens Hold has collected an average of 1.95 points per game and won two national championships and cups.
After a detour to the Conference League last year, the top Danish club is back on the highest possible stage of European soccer. The Lions are participating in the Champions League for the seventh time in their club history, but are considered underdogs in the FC Copenhagen vs. Leverkusen odds.
Duels with German teams have generally ended unhappily for Neestrup’s side. Copenhagen has won only one of 14 direct duels against German teams in European competitions (5D, 8 L). Two of the eight defeats came in matches against Werkself in the 2014 CL qualifiers (0-4, 2-3).
Beware of the offense
The Neestrup team’s offensive framework could still pose a threat to the visitors from the Bundesliga. Youssoufa Moukoko was signed by BVB this summer. The young striker now hopes to revive his stalled career with the Lions.
Together with Mohamed Elyounoussi and the two wingers Jordan Larsson and Elias Achouri, the 20-year-old forms a goal-hungry quartet. The Danes have scored in eight consecutive competitive games and finished five of those eight games with at least two goals of their own.
However, they have conceded at least one goal in five of their six previous competitive games. In addition, the defeat in the dress rehearsal against Bröndby (1-2) was perfectly acceptable in view of the distribution of expected goals (0.51:1.53 xG).
Leverkusen – Statistics & current form
After the departure of Erik ten Hag, it seems as if the Werkself has been redeemed. Bayer won their first match under successor Hjulmand and showed aggressive pressing at the edge of the opponent’s box at times in the game against Eintracht Frankfurt (3-1).
Leverkusen has now scored three goals in two consecutive competitive games. B04 has finished three of its first four games of the season with at least three goals of its own. Despite the numerous changes in the summer, the individual quality in the squad is high and Hjulmand is now ensuring unity on the field.
Last year, the reigning Bundesliga runners-up won five of ten Champions League games and qualified directly for the round of 16 by finishing sixth in the league phase. However, the Werkself lost both games against Bayern Munich (0-3, 0-2).
A breath of fresh air and active new signings
The Bundesliga club’s management responded to the departure of key players with some interesting new signings. These include Malik Tillman, who scored in his first Bundesliga game for Werkself.
The attacking midfielder has also already gained experience in the Champions League and has excelled. Tillman collected five CL points (3 goals, 2 assists) last year in a PSV shirt, even though he only played in half of the matches (6/12).
Leverkusen got off to a flying start in the Champions League group stage, celebrating a 4-0 away win against Feyenoord. Of their last 16 games in the Champions League group stage, the Werkself have lost only two (11W, 3D). According to the bookmakers’ predictions, Leverkusen is now the favorite to win against FC Copenhagen – albeit not by much.
FC Copenhagen – Leverkusen Head-to-head record
As already mentioned, Leverkusen has won the only two competitive matches between the two sides in the past. In 2014, B04 secured a hard-fought 3-2 away win against the top Danish club. Just eight days later, Leverkusen dominated the return leg of the Champions League qualifier, winning 4-0 at home.
FC Copenhagen – Leverkusen Tip
Individually speaking, Bayer naturally brings a much stronger squad to the home of new coach Kasper Hjulmand. The visitors’ offense continues to be extremely dangerous, as evidenced by at least three goals scored in three of their first four competitive games.
In addition, Hjulmand’s first game was marked by a return to a unified approach, with B04 switching back to aggressive pressing after a period of adjustment. These processes restore confidence and strengthen the self-belief of the individual players.
Nevertheless, the Werkself players will need to be focused. Copenhagen marched through the qualifiers undefeated (4W, 2D) and kept a clean sheet in five of six games. In addition, the Danish champions won every home game in the qualifiers without conceding a goal. However, the hosts are a long way from that in our FC Copenhagen vs. Leverkusen prediction.
