Bayern Leverkusen are looking to break back into the top three after finishing strong last season to claim fifth place. Striker Andriy Voronin is off to Liverpool, but they have replaced him with the Bundesliga's leading goal scorer last season, Theofanis Gekas, on a transfer to Bochum.

Ex-Bochum stars have a history of floundering when they move on to bigger clubs, but Leverkusen hope that the Greek goal-getter proves the exception. They also expect improvement from young forward Stefan Kießling in his second year with the club.

Gekas, for one, is confident.

"If we get on a roll, we should play a major role in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup," he predicted.

If Leverkusen get production up front and learn to play consistently, they're a dark horse contender for the Champions League.

Coach: Michael Skibbe

Acquisitions: Ricardo Faty (AS Rome), Theofanis Gekas (Bochum), Lukas Sinkiewicz (Cologne), Sascha Dum (Alemannia Aachen, returns from loan), Hans Sarpei (Wolfsburg), Arturo Vidal (Colo Colo), Manuel Friedrich (Mainz), Vratislav Gresko (Nuremberg), Eric Domaschke (Leverkusen amateurs)

Departures: Jörg Butt (Benfica Lissabon), Ahmed Madouni, Marko Babic (Betis Sevilla), Fredrik Stenman (FC Groningen), Juan (AS Rome), Andriy Voronin (Liverpool), Alexander Meyer (Duisburg), Pierre de Wit (on loan to Osnabrück), Athirson, Roque Junior, Tom Starke (Duisburg)