
It was an emotional get-together before the Werkself entered the home straight at the end of the season on Monday. Peter Bosz and his team are back in action on Saturday (15.30 CET, live text commentary and web radio in German at bayer04.de) with Hertha Berlin providing the final challenge of the campaign in Bundesliga season number 56. And against the team from Berlin, it is once again a case of all or nothing for the Black and Reds – Kai Havertz talked about the "most important game of the season" on Tuesday.
It's all about playing in the Champions League next season. Just two goals separate Bayer 04 from fourth place with Borussia Mönchengladbach in that position at the moment. And Eintracht Frankfurt, with one point less than the Werkself and Gladbach lying in sixth place, also are in with a chance – while Wolfsburg are outsiders In the race for a Champions League spot due to their significantly worse goal difference. The fact Gladbach (at home to Borussia Dortmund) and Frankfurt (away to Bayern Munich) are wrapped up in games against the top two clubs gives hope to the Werkself. "We have to win," said Havertz laying down the line and on Saturday the hope is the two potential title winners can lend a hand. "We'll do all we can this week to prepare perfectly for Berlin. And we have to give our all again and then see what happens in the end," said the Werkself top goalscorer who has found the back of the net in each of the last six games.
The last open training session of the season was held on Tuesday morning – all the squad were involved with the exception of Julian Baumgartlinger (rested) plus the long-term injured players Karim Bellarabi, Leon Bailey and Joel Pohjanpalo (all in rehab training) and, at the end of the session, the group made the watching fans happy with selfies and autographs.
After a day off on Wednesday, the last part of preparations for Berlin will be held behind closed doors before the Werkself set off for the capital on Friday afternoon.


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.
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Bayer 04’s eight opponents in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League have been confirmed. At the draw on Friday 28 August held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the Werkself were drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots. There are a total of four home and four away matches. Read on for details of opponents and fixture dates.
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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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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-3 loss at SV 07 Elversberg on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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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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