Moussa Diaby could make his second Bayer Leverkusen debut against Union Berlin on Saturday, with head coach Carles Martinez backing him to provide "something special".
Diaby backed to provide 'something special' on Leverkusen return
Bayer Leverkusen are hoping to get their season up and running against Union Berlin, and they have been boosted by Moussa Diaby's return.
After spending the last three years with Aston Villa in the Premier League and Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League, Diaby returned to Leverkusen on a five-year contract this week.
During Diaby's first stint with Leverkusen, from 2019 to 2023, he provided 66 Bundesliga goal involvements (31 goals, 35 assists) – only eight players tallied more in the league in that time.
Only Thomas Muller (65) and Christopher Nkunku (36) bettered Diaby's 35 Bundesliga assists, and he also led all players in the Bundesliga for carries ending in a chance created (93), carries ending in an assist (23) and carries ending in a goal (14, joint with Erling Haaland and Nkunku) during that span.
Leverkusen opened their Bundesliga campaign with a shock 3-2 defeat to newly promoted Elversberg last week, but Martinez has been boosted by Diaby's availability ahead of Union's visit.
"He has trained very well, he is ready and fit, even if the past few weeks were maybe a bit unusual for him," Martinez said of the winger.
"He brings something special to our game, with his speed and his super left foot. He's also got a very good connection to lots of players and members of staff. We're pleased he's here."
Leverkusen have started each of their last two Bundesliga seasons with a defeat, with 2018-19 and 2022-23 being the only other times they began with a loss this century.
Bayer failed to build any momentum after their poor start to 2025-26 under Erik ten Hag, who was swiftly dismissed in favour of Kasper Hjulmand, and Martinez knows they need to show more on the second matchday of this campaign.
"After a good pre-season, we unfortunately lacked certain things against Elversberg," Martinez said. "We want to do things differently, to play with passion, with the right mentality, and to win.
"A season is always a learning process, and we were able to take a lot from the first game. I'm very happy with training this week.
"Now we want and have to show our ideas on the pitch tomorrow, as well as facing up to the fight from a mentally strong and disciplined opponent."
Union played out a thrilling 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on MD1, with Tim Skarke scoring a stoppage-time equaliser for Mauro Lustrinelli's side after they had trailed 3-1.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bayer Leverkusen – Patrik Schick
Schick has scored seven Bundesliga goals since matchday 30 of last season, more than any other player in that period; this is as many as he managed in his previous 20 Bundesliga appearances combined.
Union Berlin – Leopold Querfeld
Union were the team with the most duels contested on matchday one of the current Bundesliga season (114, level with Eintracht).
Querfeld contested 19 duels (58% won), with only Hoffenheim's Ozan Kabak (20) contesting more across the league. Querfeld also scored and assisted in a Bundesliga match for only the second time in his career, and he will hope to maintain his fine form here.
MATCH PREDICTION – BAYER LEVERKUSEN WIN
Leverkusen have won 10 of their 17 previous matches against Union in all competitions (D5) – their only two defeats both came away in Berlin.
At home, Bayer are still unbeaten against Union (W6 D3) and have kept four consecutive clean sheets against them – they are not currently on a longer run without conceding a goal at home against any other side.
Union avoided defeat on the opening matchday for the sixth consecutive Bundesliga season, having also picked up points on the second matchday in four of the last five seasons.
But they are still outsiders at the BayArena, even if Leverkusen have won just two of their last six home Bundesliga matches dating back to last season (D3 L1).
Despite their shock defeat, Martinez's hosts had the highest possession share (66.5%) and completed the most passes (582) of any team on matchday one, and the Opta supercomputer is backing them to make their superiority count on Saturday.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Bayer Leverkusen – 61.8%
Union Berlin – 17.8%
Draw – 20.4%
