13 Werkself international players are on the road at the moment; Paulinho (torn cruciate), Patrik Schick (thigh) and Moussa Diaby (foot) are injured – international breaks always give youth players the opportunity to show what they can do. Goalkeeper Jakob Brambach, defenders Cem Türkmen and Christian Schwieren, midfielder Samed Onur and striker Emrehan Gedikli trained with the first team squad on Tuesday and Wednesday.
And the session on Wednesday was a real workout: FFT – Football Fitness Training was on the agenda. The warm-up and different passing drills were followed by a competitive scenario on a reduced-sized pitch. While regular first-team players Karim Bellarabi and the Bender brothers were able to finish before the intensive part of the session, Gedikli and Co. completed all the drills. Including gasping after completing the workout.
Daley Sinkgraven has yet to take part in full training. The Dutchman was substituted due to a head injury in the middle of the first-half away to VfB Stuttgart. He trained on his own on Wednesday and the left-back is expected to return to full training in the next few days.
It was the first Bundesliga home goal in the new season – and what a strike it was! Kerem Demirbay scored with a long-range effort and the help of the underside of the bar in the 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig. The strike by the 27-year-old was voted the September ‘Goal of the Month’ by Werkself fans. The vote was presented for the first time by the new, official Bayer 04 mobility partner like2drive .
Moreover: Demirbay’s strike was also nominated for the ARD-Sportschau ’Goal of the Month’. Our number 10 has the final digit 2 with votes cast by phone (0049 (0)1371/36900 – 2) or online at sportschau.de. The deadline for entries is Saturday, 17 October at 19.00 CEST.
Sami Hyypiä knows Bayer 04 in two ways: The Finn signed for Bayer 04 in the summer of 2009 after ten years at Liverpool, where he won the Champions League in 2005, and he hung up his boots after two seasons playing for the Werkself. After switching to the dugout and working as assistant coach with Finland, Hyypiä finally returned to Leverkusen in April 2012. He coached the Black and Reds for more than 40 games. That was followed by coaching jobs with Brighton & Hove Albion and FC Zürich. He is now the assistant with Finnish top-flight side FC Haka – and also 47-years-old on Wednesday. Bayer 04 say: Happy birthday, Sami!
Nico Schneck and Jürgen Kohler have also just celebrated their birthdays. Schneck, now 33 years old and assistant coach with the MSV Duisburg Women’s team, was the assistant coach to Heiko Herrlich at the Werkself for eighteen months. Kohler was the Leverkusen coach from 2003 to 2004. The 1990 World Cup winner is 55. Bayer 04 wish the duo: A belated happy birthday!
The Leverkusen eSports team played the remaining three of the six matches in the online preliminary round of the fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg were among the teams with the highest goal threat, including two World Cup participants in their ranks. Although the #B04eSports players were defeated in the matches overall, nine points from the first three games last week were enough for Leverkusen to advance to the offline round in Berlin on 2 February.
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A decisive showdown awaits: The Werkself are aiming to progress to the play-off round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League with a home win against Villarreal CF on the eighth and final matchday of the league phase. Ahead of the match on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the game, the possible return of Edmond Tapsoba and a statement from new signing Jonas Omlin in an exclusive interview with Werkself TV. Lucas Vázquez, for his part, spoke about his role on and off the pitch as well as tomorrow’s opponents, who he often faced in Spain with Real Madrid.
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For Villarreal CF, the match at Bayer 04 on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), will be their last appearance on the European stage this season. The Spanish side, currently fourth in La Liga, are still without a win in the UEFA Champions League and, with just one point from their seven games so far, have no chance of making the play-offs. The 2021 Europa League winners can therefore play without any pressure at the BayArena and will be looking to bow out of the competition with a good performance. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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