Lech Poznan v Bayer Leverkusen: Preview, predicted line-ups & Europa League tip

Lech Poznan v Bayer Leverkusen is a matchday two fixture in the Europa League league stage, so the table is still thin. Eight teams hold three points from their opening game, and the top of the snapshot is led by Juventus on a goal difference of +5. Neither side here is in that group on the figures supplied. Lech lost 4-0 at Crystal Palace on the opening night, while Leverkusen beat Celje 2-0 at home. Early league-stage points carry weight because the top eight avoid the play-offs, so a first win for Lech would change their position quickly. A Leverkusen win would leave them with six points from two.

Lech Poznan reached the league stage through qualifying. They beat KI Klaksvik 1-0 at home and 5-0 away, then drew with FC Thun 2-2 away after a 7-0 home win, according to the recent-form data. Those four results produced 15 goals in five matches overall (3.0 per game) and three clean sheets. The Palace defeat on 17 September is the one blemish, and it was their heaviest loss of the run.

Bayer Leverkusen have one competitive result in the supplied data: the 2-0 win over Celje on 16 September. The numbers behind it were strong. They averaged 17 shots, eight of them on target, with 56% possession and an expected goals figure of 1.93 against 0.90 conceded. One match is a small sample, but it suggests a side that controls games.

A Thursday kick-off ahead of weekend league fixtures often brings some rotation, and neither squad list shows an obvious reason to expect an unchanged side. Lech's selection is partly dictated by absences, with five players unavailable. Leverkusen's own absentee list is incomplete in the supplied feed, so the data does not say how much freedom the visitors have. Lech's home scoring rate of 4.0 per game in qualifying came against lower-ranked opposition. Leverkusen average 2.0 goals per game on their only outing, and they opened the season in the same 4-2-3-1 shape Lech have used in all five of their matches.

Lech Poznan (4-2-3-1): Lis; Gurgul, Skrzypczak, Bartczak, Joel Pereira; Kozubal, Bengtsson; Wålemark, Pablo Rodríguez, Jagiełło; Ishak.

Bayer Leverkusen (4-2-3-1): Flekken; Lucas Vázquez, Tapsoba, Badé, Miguel Gutiérrez; Andrich, Ben Seghir, Tella; Schick.

Both XIs are projections from the supplied squads. The shape is the one each side has used so far, but individual selections could change with rotation.

Kick-off at Stadion Poznan is 17:45 BST on Thursday 15 October 2026. The competition is shown on TNT Sports where selected, though the specific channel for this fixture has not been confirmed and the page will be updated closer to kick-off. This is a league-stage match, not a two-legged tie, so there is no second leg. If level after 90 minutes, the match ends as a draw, with no extra time or penalties in the league stage.