“We’re happy to get going again – even though the break was very short,” said head coach Heiko Herrlich at the pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon. The Bayer 04 players and coaching staff only had 12 days to recharge their batteries: The Werkself returned to training on 2 January to prepare for the forthcoming clash with the league leaders who have a 13-point lead over the Werkself in fourth place. Given the positions in the table, the Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes is expecting “a top-class opening match. Two teams capable of playing very good football face each other.” Heynckes, who like his assistant Peter Hermann, was also at Bayer 04, praised the approach of the Werkself: “Leverkusen have assembled a very good side and the team has been impressive. They have a good mix of young, talented and experienced players – they complement each other very well and that’s why they’re unbeaten in twelve games.”
Heiko Herrlich is well aware of the focus on Leverkusen tomorrow night: “The match will be broadcast worldwide. Everyone will be watching us, full of hope for us and wanting the Bundesliga to be more exciting.” The 46-year-old also knows the magnitude of the challenge facing his team: “Bayern Munich are the best side in the league. If they produce their best form it will be incredibly difficult. We need to be 100 per cent on top of our game, hope for or force mistakes and then we’ll be in with a small chance.”
And the Black and The Reds want to take that chance. The Werkself boss is hoping his players can carry on where they left off before the winter break and learn from the last meeting of the two teams five months ago. “In the reverse fixture we showed far too much respect and we dozed off for much of the first half. We only really put in the effort in the second half when we were 3-0 down. This time we want to set aside respect and fear,” said Herrlich. “I don’t want to tempt fate but we always set out to win our games at home.”
Heiko Herrlich is in the happy position of having virtually a full squad to choose from. Only Vladlen Yurchenko is unavailable due to a foot injury. “It feels good to be in this position,” said Herrlich. And Lars Bender, who was struggling with cold symptoms in the past few days, now appears to be back on track according to Herrlich: “He was able to train and I’m not worried about him being unavailable tomorrow.”
Following the final pre-match training session on Thursday afternoon, the Bayer 04 coaching staff will again be spoilt for choice in picking the side to take on Bayern Munich. "We have a lot of players trying to get in the starting eleven. There will be some tough decisions to make tomorrow," said Herrlich.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a new coffee partner. The club has agreed a long-term partnership with the Bocholt-based roastery Imping, running to 30 June 2031. The exclusive partnership with the family-run business includes the installation of fully automatic coffee machines at the BayArena, as well as the right to supply and serve coffee products in the business areas during Werkself home games.
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Plenty going on both on and off the pitch: The Bayer 04 fan support team has organised a number of highlights for fans visiting the Werkself 2026/27 summer training camp in Blankenhain, in the Weimarer Land region. Registration for the events is now open. All the details at a glance.
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The Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team and s2-Software are continuing their long-term partnership: The Werkself and the provider of pre-owned Microsoft licences have extended their contract by two years to 2028. This means s2-Software will remain the Bayer 04 sleeve sponsor for all matches in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga.
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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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