Sunshine returned to Leverkusen on Wednesday afternoon just in time for the final Werkself training session ahead of the clash with Nice. 21 outfield players plus three goalkeepers were welcomed by head coach Peter Bosz at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Florian Wirtz, who was recently sidelined with a stomach muscle injury, was also on the training ground along with Tin Jedvaj who has recovered from illness. Also with the group: the trio of youth players Emrehan Gedikli, Samed Onur and Cem Türkmen plus Mitchell Weiser, who is not named in the Europa League squad. The skipper Charles Aránguiz was sidelined.
The Werkself’s next opponents from the south of France landed at Cologne/Bonn airport on Wednesday morning. A few hours later, head coach Patrick Vieira and key defender Dante attended the press conference at the media centre at the BayArena. The latter, who spent seven years playing in Germany (including for Bayern Munich), knows the qualities of the Werkself: “I still regularly watch the Bundesliga. Bayer 04 have a young and quick team. We know it will be a tough game for us,” said the 37-year-old.
His coach Vieira, who has brought Nice back onto the European stage after three years, wants to play a high press against the Black and Reds. The former player: “We have to win the ball high up the pitch and be fully focused on the game. Because we know the strengths of Leverkusen.” It remains to be seen whether striker Kasper Dolberg, who Bosz knows from his time at Ajax, will be able to play. “He feels good overall. But we will wait to make a decision about the line-up on the day of the game,” Vieira added.
The opening fixture in the Europa League for the Werkself will be refereed by the Croatian match official Fran Jovic. The first time the 36-year-old officiated the Black and Reds was almost exactly six years ago: On 22 October 2014, Jovic was in charge of a game involving the Bayer 04 U19s in the UEFA Youth League. The Werkself youth team lost 4-1 to Zenit St Petersburg at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Leverkusen U19s beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at the same venue in October 2016 – also with the Croat in charge.
In this year’s Europa League qualifiers, Jovic refereed the game between AC Milan and FK Bodö/Glimton 24 September. The former Werkself player Hakan Calhanoglu scored twice in the 3-2 victory for AC Milan against the Norwegian side.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will only be used in the knockout stages of the Europa League.
At the start of the week, Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes spoke about the targets in the European competition on RTL Nitro. “Even though we have respect for our opponents, it is clearly our minimum target to reach the knockout stages,” said the 38-year-old. The other opponents in the Werkself group are Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) and Hapoel Beer Sheva from Israel.
Following the successful start for the Bayer 04 women in the new season in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga, the much changed squad – the management have signed ten new players – gathered for the official team photograph a few days ago. With eleven points secured to date, the players of the fifth-placed team had good reason to smile:
Midfielder Ruby Grant is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and joining Portuguese runners-up Sporting CP a year before her contract expires. The 24-year-old has been at the Werkself since January 2025.
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Bayer 04 have loaned Brazilian full-back Arthur to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for one year. Arthur Augusto de Matos Soares – the full name of the right-back – has a contract with Leverkusen until 30 June 2031. At Werder, the 23-year-old is expected to make an impact and help the long-established club further consolidate their position in the Bundesliga.
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Bayer 04 have loaned defender Jeanuel Belocian to Spanish top-flight side Racing Santander. The 21-year-old defender joins the team currently ninth in La Liga until the end of the current 2026/27 season. Belocian’s contract remains valid until 30 June 2029. Last season, the 1.86-metre-tall U21 international was loaned to VfL Wolfsburg for six months.
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He knows the dressing room, the pitch and the club. But, above all, he knows the feeling of playing for the Werkself at the BayArena: Moussa Diaby is back in Leverkusen after three years. The lightning-fast winger has signed a contract with Bayer 04 until 2031 and he will once again wear the number 19 jersey. The left-footed player previously played for the club from 2019 to 2023, having arrived in the Rhineland from his native France as a promising young talent and eventually leaving the club – having established himself as one of the Bundesliga’s best attackers – to join Aston Villa in the Premier League. Now he has returned to Bayer 04 from Al-Ittihad FC in Saudi Arabia.
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