Bayer Leverkusen could be in for an interesting season, with Bayern Munich bringing in a new manager and Borussia Dortmund signing a lot of new players.

Javier Hernandez will miss the start of the season because of an injury at home, but they have a strong side without him, especially with the small amount of major players departing the club.

Past Season

Through the majority of the season, Bayer Leverkusen were in the midst of the battle for a spot in any European competition, but a run of form that rivalled Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund got them into third place.

In the first six weeks Leverkusen were as high as third and as low as 13th. For the first half of the season they couldn’t get into the top four, showing the competition in the league at that time.

They got back to third in the middle of February after a win against Darmstadt, but three losses in a row against Dortmund, Mainz and Werder Bremen put them down to seventh. A draw against Augsburg on March 5 took them out of any European places.

In their final nine games of the season they won eight games, their form at this time only rivalled by Bayern Munich and at times Dortmund. They went from eighth to finishing the 2015/16 season in third with a five point lead over fourth.

For their European campaign they qualified for the Champions League after beating Lazio. They were transferred to the Europa League after finishing third in their group behind Barcelona and Roma. They then were able to beat Sporting CP but lost out to Villareal.

Their first two DFB Pokal matches were won 3-0 and 6-0 respectively against lower league opposition. They made their way to the quarter finals where they were beaten by Werder Bremen.

Transfers

Bayer have made two big signings this summer, with one being completed just before the start of the season. Kevin Volland was brought in for a club record €18 million, while centre back Aleksander Dragovic recently transferred from Dynamo Kiev.

Other Transfers

Julian Baumgartlinger (CDM) – from Mainz 05 – £3.4 million

Ramazan Ozcan (GK) – from FC Ingolstadt – £425k

Danny da Costa (RB) – from FC Ingolstadt – £425k

Christoph Kramer is the other major player who has left the side this summer, making the move to rivals Borussia Monchengladbach. The majority of their other departures have been loan moves and free transfers.

Ones to Watch

Kevin Volland

There is a reason why Bayer paid a club record amount for the 24-year-old. Even at Hoffenheim he impressed, and with the higher calibre of players that are in his new team this could be the best season of his career so far.

Javier Hernandez

In his first season in the Bundesliga, Hernandez was the fourth top scorer. While he will miss the start of the season, he will be one of the main sources of goals for Bayer during 2016/17.

Jonathan Tah

The 20-year-old made the move to Bayer from Hamburg last summer, and was used a lot by manager Roger Schmidt. He’s had interest from a number of clubs already, and he has a lot of room to become a world-class defender.

Predictions

Bayer went unbeaten in their preseason games. They won five games and drew three, although one of the draws came after the match was abandoned in the 12th minute. They were impressive against Fiorentina, while they also swept aside Real Sociedad.

Because of the changes that have happened at Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund this summer, there is the chance that Bayer can keep their form going and make the title chase into a three-horse race.

In the last few years we have seen Bayern run away with the Bundesliga title. While others think that Dortmund will be a lot closer this year, I think the stability in the Bayer squad could give them the chance to make the 2016/17 season a lot more interesting.