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It has been a season of ups and downs for Bayer 04 Leverkusen so far in 2016/17.
It has been a season of ups and downs for Bayer 04 Leverkusen so far in 2016/17.

Season so far: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

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At the halfway point of the 2016/17 Bundesliga season, it is time for bundesliga.com to dissect the campaigns of each club so far.

Story so far

Let's take a look at Bayer 04 Leverkusen...

A team with Leverkusen's history always aims to finish in the European qualifying places, but they endured a difficult first half of the season and find themselves in ninth. After opening with a 2-1 loss at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Die Werkself bounced back by beating Hamburger SV, only to lose their next fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt. It's an up-and-down story that has repeated itself so far this term: on Matchday 6 Bayer picked up a valuable win over Borussia Dortmund, only to drop points the following week at SV Werder Bremen. Leverkusen have yet to put together back-to-back victories, and will need to find consistency to move up the table. The bright spot for Bayer has been their form in the UEFA Champions League, where they advanced to the knockout stage with relative ease.

Watch: Javier 'Chicharito' Hernadez's hat-trick against Mainz on Matchday 5:

Star player:Hakan Calhanoglu

The 22-year-old midfielder has been in highly productive form in his third season with Leverkusen. Calhanoglu banged in four Bundesliga goals, set up four more, and acted as a steadying influence on the squad with his standout play. The Turkey international's eye-catching goals from distance, like his strike against Darmstadt on Matchday 10, were critical in opening up opposing defences.

Watch: Turkish delight: Top 10 Goals:

Honourable mention:Julian Brandt

Leverkusen's attacking style can set the stage for a few moments of brilliance in any game; when something truly special does go down, Julian Brandt is often at the middle of it. The 20-year-old has emerged as one of the Bundesliga's top dribblers, taking on defenders and drawing a crowd that his teammates regularly benefited from. Brandt's mazy runs helped him collect six assists through the first 16 matches.

Click here to vote Brandt into your Team of the Hinrunde!