The Werkself players felt the after-effects of the Porto home match on Friday morning. "We talked about the game this morning and now we have to work on it," said Bosz who had the starting eleven complete a relaxed recovery session. "We did a bit more with the others but not too much because we have an important Bundesliga game against Augsburg in a couple of days," explained the 56-year-old head coach at the press conference.
Karim Bellarabi returned to full training after recovering from a cold and is an option for Sunday. Moussa Diaby also returned in time from Paris to complete the morning training session after he yesterday paid a flying visit to his heavily pregnant partner. The Diaby baby is letting people wait and the 20-year-old is on standby up into including the Augsburg game. Kevin Volland, who had to limp off in added time after a challenge in last night's game against Porto, underwent an MRI scan but no serious injury was revealed. "We'll have to wait and see about the pain and whether this weekend is an option," said Bosz.
The head coach refused to reveal if he intends to rotate his side for the game against FC Augsburg, who have yet to beat the Werkself in Germany's top flight: "All the players available to us are an option. We can play with different systems and the variations depend on availability and opponents. We are definitely prepared for different scenarios that will arise against Augsburg."
Match information:
Attendance: 23,500; tickets available on the matchday from 13.30 CET
TV broadcaster: Sky
Referee: Sven Jablonski (Bremen)


Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
Show more
Welcome to Leverkusen, Carles Martínez Novell. Bayer 04 have appointed the 42-year-old Spaniard as the new head coach on a contract to 2028. Martínez most recently worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. He previously spent four years at Barcelona's legendary academy La Masia in his home city. Bayer04.de introduces Martínez in more detail.
Show more
Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
Show more
Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
Show more
Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
Show more