Boniface faces big Liverpool test as Alonso returns to Anfield

Victor Boniface is in imperial form. The Bayer Leverkusen’s last season’s top scorer has already scored six goals in the 2024/25 for Leverkusen, who are struggling to meet the highs of last term where they went through the Bundesliga and cup unbeaten.

Bayer Leverkusen, who won their first German title last season, are currently in a distant third position behind runaway leaders, Bayern Munich, but they have been good in the UEFA Champions League.

However, they are billed to meet a tough task at Liverpool, who have found a new lease of life under Arne Slot. While Leverkusen’s recent domestic form has been relatively underwhelming as they have recorded two consecutive draws away to Werder Bremen, and at home to VfB Stuttgart, their European results are solid. They are unbeaten after three games, having taken seven points from an available nine and sit in sixth place in the 32-team league table.

However, they’ll be hoping to improve on their most recent outing, a 1-1 draw away at Brest. For this clash, Alonso will be glad to be able to select a team from a near complete pool of available players, with Boniface expected to lead the line once again after missing the Brest encounter.

Amine Adli will miss out, Jeanuël Belocian, and Nordi Mukiele are all set to miss out. Martin Terrier should return after sitting out the Stuttgart game. Alongside Boniface, the likes of Florian Wirtz and Jonas Hofmann will be hoping to cause the Reds’ back line plenty of problems.

Liverpool, meanwhile, are one of the in-form teams in Europe. Slot’s side are one of only two teams in Europe’s premier club competition to have won every one of their games in the tournament so far (alongside Aston Villa), most recently a 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig.