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
BIOGENA is the new performance partner for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team. Under a partnership initially set to run for three years, the club and the leading Austrian micronutrient company are pooling their expertise in the areas of health, fitness and top-level performance.
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100 children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy had the chance to gain exclusive insights: As part of the summer camp, the young footballers headed inside the BayArena at midday on Tuesday, 21 July, where they were due to meet Werkself keepers Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch in the press conference room. The two players took plenty of time to answer every question from the inquisitive audience – whether it was about their own careers or their first impressions of the new head coach. Finally, there was even time left to sign autographs for the young fans.
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Alejo Sarco has left Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join Sporting Gijón in Spain’s second division. Bayer 04 have secured a buy-back clause for the 20-year-old Argentine striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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