- 1 Bayer Leverkusen vs Union Berlin: 11 goals between them on opening day
- 2 Bayer Leverkusen: a hard lesson first up, now they need a response
- 3 Union Berlin: a point earned, but the back line is in ruins
- 4 Bundesliga prediction Bayer Leverkusen vs Union Berlin
- 5 First up, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Bayer Leverkusen vs Union Berlin: 11 goals between them on opening day 
Bayer Leverkusen have played one Bundesliga game this season, and it produced five goals. Union Berlin somehow topped that with a 3-3 draw in their opener.
The two sides meet on Saturday 5 September at 15:30 at the BayArena for matchday two in Germany. Neither has won yet.
Leverkusen were caught cold at Elversberg, the newly promoted side, shipping three goals in 46 minutes before heading home with a 3-2 defeat. That is the kind of mess Carles Martinez cannot afford to repeat on home soil.
Union Berlin, meanwhile, rescued a point against Eintracht Frankfurt after trailing by two with a little over 10 minutes left. The equaliser came deep into stoppage time.
The two clubs arrive from very different seasons: sixth place and Europa League qualification for Bayer Leverkusen, 11th and a disappointing campaign for Union. The gap in status is still obvious.
The odds say the same, with Leverkusen priced at 1.44 and the visitors at 6.40. The bookmakers are not expecting another Berlin shock.
The head-to-head record backs that up too, with Bayer Leverkusen winning four of their last six meetings in all competitions. The pecking order is clear enough.
But both teams showed the same thing on opening day: they can score, and they can concede just as easily.
Bayer Leverkusen: a hard lesson first up, now they need a response 
The trip to Elversberg was supposed to be a warm-up. It turned into a warning. Three goals down before the hour, and too much to do despite a decent finish.
Patrik Schick and Christian Kofane pulled it back late to make it 3-2. The fight was there, but it arrived far too late.
A week earlier, Carles Martinez’s side had thrashed Wehen in the German Cup opener. The contrast between the two performances raises questions about how steady this group really is.
Schick remains the main attacking threat, scoring 16 Bundesliga goals last season and already off the mark this year. He should lead the line again on Saturday.
Around him, Tillman, who scored six last season, and Aleix Garcia, with eight assists, give Leverkusen plenty of firepower. The attack is not the issue.
The injury list is still busy, with young signing Eichhorn, backup Cullbreath and former Monaco man Ben Seghir all sidelined. Terrier is also out, with a possible return to France hanging over him.
Moussa Diaby is back at the club and could make the bench on Saturday. Nathan Tella will be assessed before kick-off.
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Union Berlin: a point earned, but the back line is in ruins 
Union Berlin’s opening day was a wild one. They were two goals down with 10 minutes to go, then came away with a 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. Given the way it unfolded, even a point feels close to a steal.
A few days earlier, the Berlin club had booked their place in the second round of the German Cup by beating Eintracht Braunschweig 4-2 away from home. So the goals are flowing.
The problem is at the other end, where Mauro Lustrinelli has had to cope without Nsoki, Friedrich, goalkeeper Ronnow, youngster Markgraf, Dane Skov and Scottish striker Burke. Those six absentees could miss the trip to the BayArena as well.
Ilic, the team’s Serbian attacking leader, has been unwell for several weeks and his return is far from certain. In short, the available squad is badly stretched.
No major changes are expected in the Berlin starting XI from matchday one. Latte-Lath, on loan from Atalanta, scored his first goal of the season there.
Croatian right-back Juranovic stood out with two assists in that same match. He is one of the few certainties at this stage of the campaign.
Summer business has been tough on the balance sheet too, with centre-backs Diogo Leite and Doekhi leaving for Lazio, along with midfielder Kral to Copenhagen. Van Den Bosch, signed from Royal Antwerp, and Aebischer, brought in from Pisa, now have to make up the difference.
Probable Bayer Leverkusen line-up: Flekken – Vasquez, Bade, Tapsoba, Gutierrez – Fernandez, Aleix Garcia – Tella, Maza (ou Tillman), Moreira – Schick.
Probable Union Berlin line-up: Raab – Juranovic, Querfeld, Van Den Bosch, Rothe – Jeong, Khedira, Kemlein, Burcu – Latte-Lath, Ljubicic.
Bundesliga prediction Bayer Leverkusen vs Union Berlin
Our prediction: Bayer Leverkusen to win and over 2.5 goals (odds at 1.75)
The two teams shared 11 goals between them on opening day, five at Elversberg and six at the Alte Forsterei. Backing over 2.5 goals hardly feels like a bold call here.
Leverkusen, with Schick, Tillman and Aleix Garcia, have more than enough to punish a Berlin defence that was missing six players on matchday one, and could still be short on Saturday. The difference in attacking quality is too big to ignore.
Union Berlin are scoring, that much is clear from their last two outings, but they are conceding too. The play is a Bayer win in a game that should open up.
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