Bayer ended the 2021 on a low - after such a promising start to the 2021/22 season under new manager, the Leverkusen side picked up just 1 point from 3 games and conceded 5 against Eintracht along the way.

All things considered, you have to give credit to the tough run of opponents Bayer had to face and the moment it happened. Eintracht were picking themselves up at the time to storm up the table and become the most in-form side in Germany; same with Hoffenheim and high flying Freiburg. So failure to get positive results in this short sequence should not be taken as an underachievement of any kind - yes, it was tough to swallow but I am positive Bayer took valuable lessons and will be able to bounce back in these January rounds.

Union may look as a difficult opposition for the occasion, however, there is one big aspect to consider - visitors are going into the game without their key attacking player Taiwo Awoniyi. The Nigerian is with the National Team at the upcoming AFCON. Awoniyi scored 14 and assisted 3 in 27 games this season and is by far Union’s best performer.

Bayer is one of the 3 best attacking teams in the competition this year and if they lose points it usually comes against offensively dangerous opponents. Eintracht, Hoffenheim and Freiburg all underlined this tendency. In other words, there is no team defensively good enough to stop Bayer in 2021/22, but enough sides to outscore them on a certain day. With Union’s issues in attack (just 23 goals in 17 games with Awoniyi getting 39,1% of them alone), I can see them being unable to stop Leverkusen on Saturday for the simple lack of quality in the offensive third.

勒沃库森一波低谷结束了 2021 年——在新教练的带领下，2021/22赛季的开局进步很大，勒沃库森队在 3 场比赛中仅获得 1 分，并在此过程中对法兰克福丢了 5 个球。

考虑到所有因素，必须赞扬勒沃库森。法兰克福当时状态正佳，排名不断上升，成为德国状态最好的球队。霍芬海姆和弗莱堡也是如此。因此，在这个短暂的低谷中未能取得积极成果不应被视为失败——是的，这很难接受，但我很肯定勒沃库森吸取了宝贵的教训，并将能够在一月份反弹。

在这种情况下，柏林联合可能是一个困难的对手，但是，有一个重要的方面需要考虑 - 客队会在缺少泰沃·阿沃尼伊的情况下进入比赛。尼日利亚人将与国家队一起参加即将举行的非洲杯。阿沃尼伊本赛季27场比赛打进14球送出3助攻，是目前联盟表现最好的球员。

勒沃库森是今年进攻最好的三支球队之一，他们丢分通常会遇到进攻危险的对手。法兰克福、霍芬海姆和弗莱堡都体现了这一点。换句话说，没有哪支球队防守好到足以在 2021/22 赛季阻止勒沃库森，但有足够多的球队在某一天得分超过他们。由于柏林联合在进攻方面的问题（17 场比赛中只有 23 个进球，而 Awooniyi 一个人就获得了 39.1% 的进球），我预测他们无法阻止勒沃库森，他们在进攻三区缺乏质量。预测勒沃库森胜。