The 43-year-old Swiss coach acknowledged the 2-0 win for Leipzig away to Atalanta on Thursday night. “It will be an extremely difficult game. We need to find the right balance,” declared Seoane at the pre-match press conference on Good Friday.
The Werkself in third place currently have a one-point lead over the rivals from Saxony who have picked up an impressive 29 points since the winter break (Leverkusen: 24). One of the key players for the Red Bulls is the midfielder Christopher Nkunku. The France international has clocked up 17 goals and 15 assists in the Bundesliga this term – and is the player with second highest numbers of goal involvements in Germany’s top flight behind Robert Lewandowski (33).
“Nkunku is good at dribbling and extremely quick,” said Seoane. “We’ll have to act cleverly against him and the other Leipzig players both tactically and individually in one-on-ones. Covering behind our lines and doubling up on the player in possession – those are really important elements against them.”
Jonathan Tah could feature again after being substituted due to injury in last weekend’s goalless draw at VfL Bochum. Seoane explained that the defender had completed a number of individual sessions and he also joined his teammates on the training ground on Friday. “The workload wasn’t that high today as we worked more on tactics,” said the Swiss coach. “Jona has a good chance of being available on Sunday.”
This week’s training regime was similar for Sardar Azmoun. The winter signing was also on the training ground on Friday and Seoane said of the striker “it’s possible he may be available against Leipzig.”
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Rieden reloaded: Just like last year, the Bayer 04 Women’s team are spending their summer training camp in this idyllic corner of Bavaria. From this Sunday, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team will be based in Rieden in the Upper Palatinate for a week.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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