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Leverkusen looking to pull rank on Genk

Bayer 04 Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt knows his side will be favourites against Group E rivals KRC Genk but warned that the Belgian champions "have quality" after facing them in pre-season.

Robin Dutt has described his Leverkusen side as favourites against Genk
Robin Dutt has described his Leverkusen side as favourites against Genk ©Getty Images

Bayer 04 Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt is happy to portray his side as favourites as they aim to put their matchday one loss at Chelsea FC behind them at home against KRC Genk, but opposite number Mario Been feels confident the Belgian champions can post a positive result as long as they make the most of their chances.

Leverkusen
Coach Robin Dutt

We cannot really deny we are favourites, but Genk qualified for this competition by winning the Belgian title. We played them in a pre-season friendly and' even though they did not have their full squad then, we could see they have quality.

If we want to leave Genk behind us in this group we have to win our home match. We will have to be focused to win this one. We have said that we want to finish second. You have to say that Chelsea are favourites to finish top and, despite a good performance, we could not get a result [at Stamford Bridge on matchday one]. It will be just as hard for the other teams in the group to get a result there, let alone to get enough points to deny Chelsea a top-two finish.

Weekend result
Saturday: FC
Bayern München 3-0 Leverkusen (T Müller 5, Van Buyten 19, Robben 90)
Leno; Balitsch, Reinartz, Toprak (Friedrich 86), Da Costa (Bellarabi 64); Bender, Rolfes; Sam, Renato Augusto, Castro; Kiessling

• Danny da Costa, 18, made his Bundesliga debut as Leverkusen suffered a third successive defeat in all competitions.

Team news
Daniel Schwaab (knee) and Michael Ballack (flu) missed the Bayern defeat, but Gonzalo Castro returned from a groin injury and Bastian Oczipka was on the bench after seven months out with a broken ankle. First-choice goalkeepers René Adler (knee) and Fabian Giefer (concussion) are sidelined while Tranquillo Barnetta and Michael Ortega (both knee) are also out. Michael Ballack is still feeling under the weather following a bout of flu, though he has trained this week.

Genk
Coach Mario Been

We have several difficult matches coming up and have to give 100% in all of them. We know Leverkusen are quick at switching from defence to attack. They have an impressive stadium and it's a very special feeling to be here.

Against Valencia, there were doubts before the game as to whether we could cope and in the end we won a point. The same goes for this match. The squad has developed nicely and we can get a result against Leverkusen if we stick to our game plan. Leverkusen have lost against Chelsea and Bayern, but those are two top European sides. Having also lost against Köln they'll want to put things right now and will be really fired up to beat us. We will have to keep the ball well and seize our chances.

Weekend result
Saturday: Oud-Heverlee Leuven 1-1 Genk (Hayen 65; Vossen 45+2)
Köteles; Anele, Nadson, Simaeys, Pudil; Hubert, Tőzsér, Buffel (De Bruyne 70); Barda, Vossen (Dugary 66), Kennedy (Benteke 47)

• Elyaniv Barda was sent off on 55 minutes after Jelle Vossen scored his third goal in as many league games.

Team news
Kevin De Bruyne is back from a calf injury, but Torben Joneleit, who has torn cruciate ligaments in his left knee, and Stijn Wertelaers – broken nose and eye socket – are out.

Match fact
In three previous games against Belgian opponents, Leverkusen have still to taste defeat. Their most recent contest, a 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage away game against Club Brugge KV, ended 1-1.