Boniface closing in on Leverkusen return
Xabi Alonso confirmed that Victor Boniface is nearing his return to action, two months after suffering a hamstring injury, though was unlikely to face Mainz midweek.
The 24 year-old sustained the injury in November after returning from international duty with Nigeria and has not featured since.
Before the setback, Boniface had scored eight goals from 15 games in all competitions for Leverkusen this season, following up his 14-goal return in the league in 24/25, when he finished as top scorer while helping Leverkusen to secure its first Bundesliga title.
Leverkusen has not struggled without Boniface - in fact, it has won all six of its league games in which the striker has not featured, averaging 3.2 goals per game. That is partly due to Patrik Schick's impressive form - he averages a goal every 51 minutes in the Bundesliga.
Jeanuel Belocian remains sidelined after his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear last month, while forward Amine Adli is still recovering from a fracture and will not feature in the Mainz clash.
"Adli won't be able to rejoin the team until the end of January at the earliest, but Boniface could return next week. He still needs plenty of time to train," Alonso said.
Talisman Florian Wirtz, who was left out of the starting line-up and played around 25 minutes in Leverkusen's 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund last week due to an internal issue, will start against Mainz, Alonso confirmed.
A run of six straight wins has lifted Leverkusen to second in the league standings with 35 points, four behind Bayern Munich. In all competitions, it has won its last nine matches in a row - since its promotion to the Bundesliga, it has only had a longer winning streak once (14) from September to November 2023.
However, its form will be tested as Alonso's side faces a busy stretch ahead with five matches in 15 days. Leverkusen resumes its Champions League campaign on 21 January at Atletico Madrid, and Alonso said his side is eagerly looking forward to it.
"Sometimes it's even good not to have much time and just keep playing," he said. "If we don’t give 100% on the pitch tomorrow against Mainz, we'll face problems [ahead]."
Fifth-place Mainz is also in good form, coming off a streak of three wins, including a 2-1 victory over Bayern mid-December that handed the Bavarian giant its first league defeat.
Mainz has lost 10 of its 13 Bundesliga matches against Leverkusen since the start of 2018 though (W2 D1), its most losses against a single club in that period.
"They're currently in very strong shape. They play boldly with the ball and with great energy. They have an excellent sense of when to press high and when to sit deeper," Alonso said.
