Even if both teams have more to lose by not winning this game than they stand to win in case of triumph, chances are we will witness a cracking encounter at Bay Arena.

And while Bayer Leverkusen can build on back to back victories over Hamburg and Stuttgart, this is Wolfsburg’s final chance to keep their Champions League hopes alive.

This season has been a real rollercoaster ride for Bayer Leverkusen, but everything suggests it will not be deemed a successful one.

Die Werkself were eliminated from both Champions League and Europa League, while they face an uphill fight to secure a top 4 finish in Bundesliga.

The good news is that the disappointing run of results is finally in the past as the narrow win over Hamburg ended a three-match winless streak.

Leverkusen further improved their top 4 hopes by defeating Stuttgart on the road and they now head into the Wolfsburg game having kept three clean sheets in a row.

Coach Roger Schmidt has seen long-term casualties Lars Bender and Charles Aranguiz resume full training and they could be in contention for Friday’s game.

Javier Hernandez will be assessed after playing for Mexico in midweek, whereas Kevin Kampl is close to making a comeback.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Leno – Henrichs, Tah, Ramalho, Wendell – Bellarabi, Kramer, Yurchenko, Brandt – Hernandez, Kiessling.

Wolfsburg are another Bundesliga side that have underperformed this season and they currently sit four and six points behind Europa League and Champions League positions respectively.

The Wolves obviously have more potential than they are showing, with only their European campaign going according to plan.

Wolfsburg secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals after seeing off KAA Gent, but they are set to face mighty Real Madrid in the last eight.

Meanwhile, their Bundesliga worries continue as the team couldn’t beat either Hoffenheim or Darmstadt before the winter break, so they will need to show massive improvement in order to get something from Bay Arena.

There have been some good news for coach Dieter Hecking as Wolfsburg’s leading league performer Max Arnold has recovered from a calf problem and is ready to play.

Key defender Naldo is also stepping up his recovery from a shoulder surgery, but the Leverkusen game comes too soon for him.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Casteels – Vieirinha, Knoche, Dante, Rodriguez – Guilavogui, Gustavo, Arnold – Caligiuri, Schurrle, Draxler.