Bayer Leverkusen travel to Darmstadt in the Bundesliga this weekend, but Xabi Alonso may opt to drop star player Granit Xhaka (31) to the bench. Here’s why.
As noted by BILD, Xhaka picked up his fourth yellow card in the Bundesliga this weekend, and one more would see the Swiss midfielder suspended for the next game. If Xhaka was to be cautioned against Darmstadt, he would miss Leverkusen’s crucial game against Bayern Munich the following weekend. A defeat against the Rekordmeister could result in a huge swing in the title race pendulum.
Xhaka has started all 19 Bundesliga games this season for Bayer Leverkusen, and is indispensable.
And it’s something that Alonso has done previously. The Spaniard dropped Jonathan Tah against Augsburg in order to have the German defender available for their game against RB Leipzig, which resulted in a win.
Should Alonso choose to drop Xhaka, a midfield pivot of Robert Andrich and Nadiem Amiri is likely.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
