Xabi Alonso faces a selection dilemma in attack when his Bayer Leverkusen side host St. Pauli in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon. The Spaniard confirmed that Die Werkself are without Patrik Schick after the Czech forward suffered a calf injury in their 1-0 win against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, joining fellow attacker Victor Boniface on the sidelines.
“Maybe he’ll be back for Tuesday [against Inter],” Alonso told reporters in Friday’s press conference. “But we’ve got several options for who starts up front tomorrow. That could be Nathan [Tella], Florian [Wirtz], Martin [Terrier]. We’ll see. Players being out is annoying, but it always presents new chances and opportunities. We’ll accept the situation and have a solution.”
Florian Wirtz started in a false nine against Bayern Munich in midweek, complemented by Exequiel Palacios and Jeremie Frimpong. It’s possible that Palacios could drop to the bench in place of Nathan Tella or Martin Terrier, while Aleix Garcia is also an option to operate in the half-spaces.
Artem Stepanov (17) was also on the bench against Bayern Munich and although unlikely to start against St. Pauli, the Ukrainian, who has scored 10 and created two in 11 U19 league games for Leverkusen this season, remains a wild card option for Alonso.
