“Paderborn always try to play on the front foot. That opened up space for us in attack on Sunday. That’s not normally the case against Düsseldorf. We expect them to be more compact and defensive,” Bosz said at the pre-match press conference on Friday. “We’re prepared for that and that’s we’ve worked on in training today and we’ll train again tomorrow.”
Left-back Wendell, who picked up an injury in training on Wednesday, was unable to train with the team today. If the Brazilian misses tomorrow’s training session, “he won’t be in the squad on Sunday,” said Bosz. Charles Aránguiz (muscle injury) and the suspended winter signing Exequiel Palacios are definitely sidelined. On top of that, Paulinho is still on international duty with the Brazil Olympic team. The recently injured left-back Daley Sinkgraven has returned to full training and is available for the clash with Fortuna.
The Black and Reds are second in the Bundesliga away form rankings but at home the Werkself are only in tenth place. “We’ve dropped too many points at home and Sunday gives us the chance to improve the stats a bit,” said Bosz, who is only willing to accept a win: “We have to win the game and we need the points.”
Central striker Joel Pohjanpalo will not be in the squad for the Düsseldorf game. The Finland striker has joined top second division club Hamburg SV on loan to the end of the season on Friday. “Normally, we want to have two players for each position. With Joel, we have three players for the central striker position. That’s why we were able to let him go,” said head coach Bosz in explaining the move. The Dutchman also commented on other potential transfer activity: “We’ve got a very good squad with very good players. So, any replacement also has to be a very good player.”
Match information:
Broadcasters: Sky (TV) and Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
Referee: Daniel Schlager (Niederbrühl)
Tickets: Bayer 04 expect an attendance of 26,000. The matchday ticket office opens at 16.00 CET.
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.
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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.
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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.
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