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.”

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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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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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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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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