
Striker Karim Bellarabi will not be able to train with the squad for several days. The forward had to go off in Tuesday night's DFB Cup semi-final at Saarbrücken (3-0) due to a slight muscle injury in his right thigh. When the 30-year-old will be able to rejoin his teammates on the pitch depends on his recovery over the next few days.
Thanks to his impressive performances, Kai Havertz is in the running to be the EA SPORTS Player of the Month for May. The 21-year-old has scored five goals in four league matches since the Bundesliga restart and has three times led the Werkself onto the pitch as captain. Click HERE to vote.
The following Bundesliga players are also nominated in addition to Havertz: Achraf Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund), Christoph Baumgartner (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) plus Joshua Kimmich and Benjamin Pavard (both FC Bayern).
Thanks to the 3-0 win in the semi-finals, the Black and Reds are through to the fourth DFB Cup final in the club's history. Back in 1993, the Werkself showed how to win that game and go on to lift the cup. Bayer 04 TV looks back at the highlights of the cup triumph against the Hertha Berlin Reserves 27 years ago today. Click HERE for the video.
Two former Bayer 04 players celebrate their birthday today: Eren Derdiyok played up front for the Werkself from 2009 to 2012 and in the 2013/14 season. The 32-year-old scored 26 goals for the Black and Reds in 108 Bundesliga appearances. Derdiyok is now playing for Pakhtakor Tashkent in Uzbekistan. And birthday greetings also go to Markus Anfang today. Born in Cologne, he played for the Bayer 04 youth teams and was youth coach at Leverkusen from 2013 to 2016. Anfang celebrates his 46th birthday today. Many happy returns, Eren and Markus.

Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
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Three days after the spectacular comeback in the DFB Pokal tie against FC Nürnberg (5–2), the Werkself face their next challenge in the Bundesliga. On Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET), Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart, currently 15th in the table, at the BayArena. Ahead of the match, Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about important factors in preparing for this next game given a tight fixture list.
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Despite VfB Stuttgart performing well in the Champions League, they are facing a difficult spell early on in the Bundesliga. Three days after their last-minute victory in the DFB Pokal at SC Paderborn 07, the Swabians can now take to the pitch at the BayArena with greater confidence on Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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A special afternoon at the Bayer 04 Football Academy autumn camp: At the Liga 20 indoor football centre, in the shadow of the BayArena, two Werkself women’s team players led a training session. Loreen Bender and Selina Ostermeier not only offered the young players advice and support, but also got stuck in themselves.
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