Hjulmand aiming to refind European home comforts with Newcastle win

Kasper Hjulmand has urged his Bayer Leverkusen team to deliver a Champions League performance to remember against Newcastle United at BayArena on Wednesday. 

Leverkusen have won their last two matches in Europe away from home, the latest of which saw them stun Pep Guardiola's Manchester City 2-0 last month. 

Hjulmand's team are 17th in the 36-team table but are just two points adrift of the top eight, a position that would see them automatically qualify for the last 16 of the competition.

However, the Werkself have failed to win any of their European matches in front of their home supporters this season, losing 7-2 to defending champions Paris Saint-Germain as well as playing out a 1-1 draw with PSV. 

Leverkusen have, however, won their last two Champions League games without conceding, last winning three in a row in the 2014-15 group stage, and never before winning three in a row to nil in the competition.  

And while victories over City and Benfica have given his team confidence, Hjulmand wants his players to back up those away triumphs with a result on home turf. 

"After the two Champions League away wins, we've got a push," Hjulmand told reporters on Tuesday.

"Tomorrow we want to take a really big step. A Champions League home game is something special, and we're really looking forward to the match."

Leverkusen are handed just a 9.6% chance of finishing in the top eight of the table by the Opta supercomputer, with their progression to the last 16 favoured by the play-offs. 

But they will be confident of boosting their automatic qualification hopes here, given they have won two of their last three Champions League games against English opposition (L1), as many wins as across their first 17 meetings with English teams in the competition (D4 L11). 

The previous meetings between Leverkusen and Newcastle came in the 2002-03 edition of UEFA's flagship competition, with the Magpies winning 3-1 both home and away against them that season (group stage, second round).

And they have experience within their ranks in the shape of Jarell Quansah, who made three appearances against Newcastle in all competitions during his time with Liverpool.

Indeed, Quansah made his Premier League debut against the Magpies back in August 2023, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2-1 victory at St. James' Park. 

While the 22-year-old never lost against Newcastle during his time at Anfield (W2 D1), he acknowledged the difficulties Eddie Howe's team will pose for Leverkusen, while also echoing the sentiment from his manager of delivering a Champions League win at home. 

"It will be a super tough game like any team in the Champions League," Quansah added. "We need to try and win at home and get the home fans involved. 

"We want to give them something to cheer about."