Carles Martinez has demanded “energy and passion” from his Bayer Leverkusen side in their Bundesliga opener against Elversberg on Saturday.
Leverkusen enjoyed a strong pre-season under Martinez, who replaced Kasper Hjulmand at the helm earlier in the summer, winning six of their seven friendlies before progressing from the first round of the DFB-Pokal.
This will be the first Bundesliga match for both Elversberg boss Vincent Wagner and Leverkusen head coach Martinez – this fixture is the only one on the opening matchday where both managers will be making their league debut.
And Martinez is wary of the threat posed by the newly promoted side; Elversberg had the best attack in the previous 2. Bundesliga season with 64 goals – 20 of which were scored in the final 15 minutes, a joint-high with Karlsruher SC.
The Spaniard anticipates a “party” atmosphere at Elversberg, but has urged the Werkself to begin their league campaign with three points.
“We want to show what we’ve been working on over the past few weeks. I want to see energy and passion,” said Martinez.
“We’re playing against a team that defends well and understands the game.
“The club, the fans, the coach and the players will be full of anticipation. It’ll probably be a bit like a party. They’ll certainly give it their all.
“Football is becoming increasingly competitive. Everyone can compete. You always have to give your all – that’s more important than ever these days. It will be a very important match for us too.
“Following our successful cup match, we want to get off to a good start in the league. Three points are very important.”
Bring on Matchday 1 in the Bundesliga #ELVB04 pic.twitter.com/eSeZkmLa6v
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) August 28, 2026
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Elversberg – Lukas Petkov
Lukas Petkov was the club’s top scorer in the 2. Bundesliga in 2025-26 (13 goals).
After eight goalless Bundesliga appearances for Augsburg between 2021 and 2022, he will be looking to become the 12th Bulgarian goalscorer in Bundesliga history.
Bayer Leverkusen – Patrik Schick
Patrik Schick scored five braces in the Bundesliga last season – only Harry Kane (10), Erling Haaland (seven) and Igor Thiago (six) recorded more in Europe’s top five leagues.
He scored in both of Leverkusen’s competitive matches against Elversberg, netting half of their goals (three of six).
MATCH PREDICTION – BAYER LEVERKUSEN WIN
Leverkusen and Elversberg will meet for the third time in all competitive games – their first two encounters were in the DFB-Pokal, with Leverkusen winning 3-0 at home in 2024, but losing 4-3 away in the first round in 2022.
Leverkusen are unbeaten in their last 20 Bundesliga matches against promoted sides (W15 D5) – their last such defeat came in March 2021 against Arminia Bielefeld (1-2 H).
This run is an ongoing club record for Leverkusen, with only RB Leipzig (40 games) currently having a longer unbeaten streak against promoted teams across the league.
Elversberg are set to make their Bundesliga debut, becoming the 59th team to play in the competition’s history.
The last three Bundesliga newcomers all lost their opening match, with the last team to earn a point on their debut being Leipzig in 2016, and the last to win being FC Ingolstadt in 2015 against Mainz (1-0).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Elversberg – 20.7%
Draw – 22.8%
Bayer Leverkusen – 56.5%
