After the spectacular 6-2 victory over Nice in last Thursday night’s Europa League match, the Bayer 04 players face a completely different opponent in the Bundesliga in the shape of FC Augsburg. While Nice are a possession-based side, “that builds their game from the back and takes risks, I expect Augsburg to be more compact at the back. They look to play quick counter-attacking football and prefer to play long balls,” said Bosz at the pre-match press conference ahead of Monday night’s game. “Against Augsburg, we’ll do nothing different and primarily focus on our own game. In terms of the way we play, we did nothing different against Nice than we did in the four Bundesliga games before that,” added the head coach.
After the first Monday match of the season for the Werkself, Bayer 04 could be at the top end of the table – depending on the outcome of the match between Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim on Sunday afternoon that could even mean fourth place. “Of course, we’ll try to win the game tomorrow – and in my opinion we have to do that! As we would obviously prefer to be in fourth position. However, in the end what really matters is where we are on matchday 34 and that won’t be decided tomorrow.”
The statistical omens for an outcome in favour of the Werkself are good ahead of the game: Bayer 04 have not lost any of the 18 clashes to date with Augsburg (12 wins, 6 draws) and the Blacks and Reds have even won the last four encounters without conceding a single goal.
Against Augsburg, Peter Bosz will again have to manage without the skipper Charles Aránguiz, Santiago Arias, Paulinho and Patrik Schick. The latter has returned to individual training with the ball this week. “Patrik is on the right track but it will be a while before he’ll be able to make his comeback,” revealed Bosz.
The coach has said he is “very happy” with Schick’s fellow striker Lucas Alario: “It’s not easy for him in the role he’s had here for a long time. He has played regularly but has not been not a first choice. But over recent weeks he’s shown: He’s there when he’s needed. He does that brilliantly – hats off to him.”
While Alario is hoping for his third start in succession, Bosz has said he will rotate: “If you only have two days off between games then you have to rotate. Some players can cope better with the double fixture weeks and others find it more difficult. I regularly talk to my assistant and fitness coaches. And we try to plan around that.”
Match information:
Broadcasters: DAZN and Werks11 Radio
Referee: The referee will be announced on the day of the match
Attendance: The match will be played behind closed doors due to the high infection rate in and around Leverkusen
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
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No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
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The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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