"I can feel the anticipation too," admitted the Werkself head coach ahead of the clash with his former club. And this time there will hopefully be a better result than in last season's appearance of Bayer 04 at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund: The Black and Reds were unfortunate to lose 3-2 given a significantly higher amount of possession and a greater number of chances. "We played well but BVB ended up winning. And in football it's all about winning," the Dutchman declared. Now, after three defeats in succession against the Black and Yellows, it's finally time for a win at the 04th attempt.
The Werkself head coach refuses to be influenced by any talk of possible disruption for Dortmund after their recent defeat in the league away to newly promoted Union Berlin (1-3). Instead, Bosz wants to focus his attention on his own team: "It's not so important to me that BVB could be under more pressure. I always focus on my own team – the line-up, how we train or how we want to play against the opposition. Anything else doesn't interest me."
Peter Bosz has almost his full squad to choose from. On Friday afternoon, he still did not know how his players who were on international duty coped with the rigours of travel in yesterday's training session. "I'll decide later about who is available after the final training session," said Bosz who will probably only be without Joel Pohjanpalo (training deficit) against BVB. Today's birthday boy has just returned to full training this week after a persistent ankle injury. Sven Bender, who suffered a shoulder injury in training on Tuesday, also trained yesterday and should be available for tomorrow's game according to Bosz.
Tomorrow's game in Dortmund brings together the two teams who have had the most possession so far this season. While the Werkself are up to 72%, BVB have 75%. Bosz refused to venture an opinion on how open tomorrow's game could be: "We always want to play our own game both home and away."
Match information
Stadium: Signal Iduna Park (81,365 capacity)
Previous results: 2-4 (H), 2-3 (A)
Weather forecast: 21 degrees, predominantly sunny
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Berlin)
Live TV broadcaster: Sky Sport


A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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