Leverkusen relying on Diaby to win

Young forward is in red-hot form as his side face runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern

BERLIN:

Bayer Leverkusen head to runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday with their forwards, in particular young Frenchman Moussa Diaby, in red-hot goalscoring form.

The 22-year-old has netted seven goals in his last five games, helping Leverkusen score 21 times in their past six league matches.

Bayern hold an eight-point lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund and appear set to continue their total dominance of German football with a 10th straight league title.

But third-placed Leverkusen's front line, consisting of Diaby, teenager Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick, have drawn plenty of admirers this season.

The trio have scored 45 goals between them this campaign and Diaby has been the leading light in recent weeks.

He scored a double last weekend in a 3-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld, after goals against Stuttgart and Dortmund and a hat-trick against Augsburg since the winter break.

"He (Diaby) demands more of himself," said defender Jonathan Tah. "He's doing great now and he deserves to hear the fans shouting his name."

Coach Gerardo Seoane said: "He is very committed and is very focused. In the last few weeks Diaby has found a better mix between passing in the final third and pushing into the box alone."

Bayern enjoyed a thumping 5-1 win when the sides met in October, but Leverkusen are on a run of five wins in six matches, including a brilliant 5-2 victory at Dortmund.

That has given them a four-point cushion over fifth-placed Freiburg in the race for a top-four spot and Champions League qualification.

"We have nothing to lose," said Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky. "We have good self-confidence and Moussa Diaby in top form.

"I am looking forward to a good game."

There will be plenty of other firepower on the pitch this weekend, though, with the division's two leading scorers going head-to-head in Robert Lewandowski and Schick.

Bayern's Lewandowski, who broke the Bundesliga single-season scoring record last season, has netted 28 league goals this term, eight more than his Czech counterpart Schick.

Leverkusen will also be given hope by Bayern's recent erratic form, after a shock 4-2 defeat at Bochum in mid-February and a hard-fought 1-0 win at out-of-form Eintracht Frankfurt last Saturday.