Heynckes knows his starting eleven

But what is it that's driving the Leverkusen/Heynckes success train? For starters, the experienced tactician seems to have eliminated Leverkusen's biggest problem - the balance between defence and attack. Too many defensive errors were what led to the club's downfall in the Bundesliga last season, but with the capture of former Liverpool defender Sami Hyypiä over the summer, Leverkusen appear to have stabilised their back line. Sporting director Rudi Völler was full of praise for the Finnish stopper: "Sami is a big player for us, a big personality. He's extremely professional and radiates a calmness which helps relax the rest of the defence." Another player in red-hot form this season for the Werkself is striker Stefan Kießling. The 25-year-old appears to have finally realised his potential, notching 12 goals already this season to head up the goalscoring charts. Bayern Munich loanee Toni Kroos is also having a ball under the tutelage of Heynckes and has been one of the most encouraging young performers of the season so far.
Leverkusen, like Hoffenheim, played a final friendly match on Wednesday evening, beating hosts Alemannia Aachen 6-1 at the Tivoli, with Simon Rolfes, Renato Augusto and Patrick Helmes all returning from injury to enjoy some playing time. The latter showed himself to be in excellent goalscoring form, slamming home four goals in the rout: "It was a good test for us. Simon Rolfes, Renato Augusto and Patrick Helmes all got some much-needed playing time and they all played really well," said Heynckes. The impressive result should be taken with a pinch of salt, however, as Aachen put out a weakened side ahead of this weekened's 2. Bundesliga programme. Nonetheless, Heynckes appears to have worked out his starting line up for Sunday's match at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena: "I know my team," said the 64-year-old. It's hard to see why Heynckes would make any changes to a winning formula - while any manager in the league would surely kill for a selection headache between Rolfes, Helmes and Renato Augusto.