The Black and Reds, currently fifth in the Bundesliga, face a team in East Berlin with an outstanding record at home: Union have won four of their last five home games at the An der Alten Försterei Stadium, all without conceding. “They are a different opponent compared with Dortmund. They have their own strengths, particularly in defence,” said Bosz about the next opposition.
The fact Union Berlin are also the opponents in the DFB Cup quarter-finals in three weeks is not relevant at the moment according to the Dutchman. The 56-year-old said: “I only look at the next game and we have to fully focus on that. And who knows who will be playing for either side in the cup tie.”
The Bundesliga away game in the capital marks the start of a busy period of fixtures over the next three weeks. “We won’t have much time to recover,” said Bosz. The head coach was happy to see recent absentees Kerem Demirbay (suspended), Julian Baumgartlinger, Exequiel Palacios and Charles Aránguiz (all injured) return to full training this week.
It is looking good for the Chilean after his long injury lay-off but it remains to be seen if he will play. “Charly said he didn’t have any problems yesterday. But he hasn’t played since the start of January so we’ll have to wait and see what happens in today’s session. I’ll make my decision after that,” Bosz explained. “Perhaps all four will be available for selection.”
With a win against Union Berlin, Bayer 04 playmaker Kai Havertz can clock up his 50th Bundesliga victory – and all that at just 20 years of age. At the pre-match press conference, the head coach praised the development of the Germany international since the start of the second half of the season. “We’ve all seen that the Kai of last season is back. Against Dortmund, you could see he is very important to the team,” said the Dutchman who was also able to welcome back Paulinho yesterday.
The Brazilian was in Colombia where he helped the Selecao U23 team qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Bosz finished by saying: “That means all players are available as of now. That is very important in view of the run of fixtures coming up.”
Match information:
Referee: Harm Osmers (Hannover)
Broadcaster: Sky (TV) and Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
Attendance: 21,717 (sold out), including 2,500 Bayer 04 fans
A special surprise: during the preview for the 'Fierté Burkinabè' documentary about Edmond Tapsoba, Bayer 04 directors Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes announced Tapsoba's contract extension until 2031 together with the centre-back. He then spoke to Werkself-TV about his time in Leverkusen so far and future ambitions...
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This evening was deeply moving: At a really special setting, Bayer 04 exclusively presented the specially produced documentary ‘Fierté Burkinabè’ ("Burkinabe Pride") about Edmond Tapsoba on Tuesday. For the preview at the BayArena, the parents of the Werkself player and other close companions travelled all the way from his African homeland Burkina Faso. The 45-minute film shows Tapsoba's extraordinary career from his beginnings in Ouagadougou to Leverkusen as well as the work of his foundation "Fondation Edmond Tapsoba", with representatives from Burkina Faso also present. Fans can watch the documentary free of charge on Werkself TV and YouTube from Wednesday night at 20:00 CEST.
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Bayer 04 have signed left-back Carolin Simon from champions Bayern Munich for the coming season. The 33-year-old former Germany international, who played for Leverkusen from 2013 to 2016, has signed a contract to 30 June 2028.
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Bayer 04 Women have strengthened for the coming season with the signing of Lobke Loone. The 23-year-old Dutch striker joins from Utrecht on a contract until 30 June 2028.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-1 win against SC Freiburg on the 23rd matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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