While the two sides were vying for Champions League positions last season, they find themselves at the opposite ends of the Bundesliga standings at the moment.

Bayer Leverkusen are again looking pretty in third, but Borussia Dortmund cannot seem to leave the relegation zone.

The first part of the season proved quite successful for Roger Schmidt and his men, and the team now need to build on some very good results and ensure they finish the campaign in style.

Bayer Leverkusen did really well to progress from what was an evenly matched Champions League group, but home loss to Monaco meant they finished second and were in turn pitted against La Liga champions Atletico Madrid in the first knockout round.

Meanwhile, die Werkself climbed to third in the Bundesliga standings, although they will need to work hard to stay in top 4, with seventh-placed Hoffenheim just two points behind.

And despite not exactly impressing at their Bay Arena of late, Bayer have been made 2.45 (29/20) favourites to see off Borussia on Saturday.

Defender Tin Jedvaj, who was signed on a permanent deal from AS Roma, is set to miss out having failed to recover from a hamstring problem.

With Heung-Min Son and Robbie Kruse both away on international duty, Josip Drmic will be handed a rare start.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Leno – Hilbert, Spahic, Toprak, Wendell – Bender, Castro – Bellarabi, Calhanoglu, Drmic – Kiessling.

This has clearly been the most difficult season for Borussia since Jurgen Klopp took over the reigns back in 2008, with the lack of confidence seriously affecting BVB.

Oddly enough, the Millionaires have been playing at a very high level in the Champions League, finishing top of their group ahead of Arsenal, although they were then unlucky to be pitted against Serie A champions Juventus.

But, while the European campaign is important as well, the Bundesliga survival fight clearly have the priority given that Borussia sit two points adrift of safety.

It would appear as though Jurgen Klopp’s charges only need one morale-boosting victory to turn their season around, so bear in mind they are 3.00 (2/1) to win at Bay Arena.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is expected to lead the line after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, but Mitchell Langerak is away on international duty.

Full-back Eric Durm is not yet ready to return, while Sebastian Kehl, Sven Bender and Jakub Blaszczykowski are all unavailable.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Widenfeller – Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels, Schmelzer – Sahin, Gundogan – Kampl, Reus, Mkhitaryan – Aubameyang.