Kasper Hjulmand has challenged his Bayer Leverkusen to enter the international break on the back of a win at home after a busy run of fixtures.

Since the October break, Hjulmand’s unbeaten start with Leverkusen came to an end with a 7-2 thrashing against Paris Saint-Germain, while Bayern Munich also got the better of them in the Bundesliga.

Leverkusen bounced back from their defeat to the league leaders with a 1-0 victory against Benfica in the Champions League, marking the end of a three-game away run.

Hjulmand’s side host Heidenheim on Saturday, and the head coach wants Leverkusen to build on their 1-0 win against Benfica.

"We are focused on this game and naturally we want to win it. I have great respect for Heidenheim, they have performed well recently. You can see their energy,” said Hjulmand.

“After three away games in a row recently, we're now looking forward to the home game. Our aim is to end this run of seven games in three weeks with a home win.

“Wins like this [Benfica] are always important and a great boost for the development of a team.

“Not everything went perfectly and we can definitely play better, but it was a great fight and I'm very proud of that.

“We now want to play a great game against Heidenheim at our stadium. We are ready and looking forward to it.”

Heidenheim are currently bottom of the league after collecting just five points from their opening 10 games of the season.

Their only win came at home against Augsburg, but they have drawn two of their last three matches in the league against Frankfurt and Werder Bremen.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Bayer Leverkusen – Alejandro Grimaldo

Alejandro Grimaldo has scored four goals and provided three assists in eight Bundesliga matches this season.

The Spanish full-back has either scored or assisted in five of his last six appearances in all competitions, directly contributing to six goals in that time (three goals, three assists).

Heidenheim – Arijon Ibrahimovic

Heidenheim's Arijon Ibrahimovic recently provided his first direct goal contribution, with an assist against Frankfurt; at 19 years and 325 days, he is the second-youngest FCH assist provider in the top flight after Paul Wanner (18 years, 253 days).

He has amassed 32 shot involvements this Bundesliga season (17 shots, 15 assists), more than twice as many as Heidenheim's second-most in this ranking (Stefan Schimmer with 15).

MATCH PREDICTION – BAYER LEVERKUSEN WIN

Leverkusen has won all four of their previous Bundesliga matches against Heidenheim – against no other club has the Werkself played as often in the top flight without dropping a point.

And of all current Bundesliga teams, Leverkusen only has a longer winning streak against Eintracht Frankfurt (six) than against Heidenheim (four, a streak otherwise only matched by Augsburg).

Leverkusen have just won two consecutive Bundesliga home games for only the second time in 2025, after a three-game streak to begin the year.

Indeed, for the first time since December 2023, they have recorded two consecutive Bundesliga home wins without conceding a goal; the last time they had more was at the turn of the year in 2022/23 (three).

Heidenheim are the only team in this Bundesliga season still without an away point, and they have lost their first four away matches of a season for the first time in the top flight. Five consecutive away defeats would equal the club's negative record in the Bundesliga.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Bayer Leverkusen – 64.6%

Draw – 19.1%

Heidenheim – 16.3%