With the Bayer 04 head coach recently being forced to keep changing his starting eleven, the boss have received a boost ahead of the crucial decider for a Champions League spot as three key players return to training. In the home game against Hannover 96 on Saturday, the Werkself will probably only be missing Kevin Volland (one-match ban) and Joel Pohjanpalo (rehab after ankle injury). Lars and Sven Bender, rested due to muscular problems recently, were able to complete the whole training session on Wednesday but Jonathan Tah, in his first full session since his hip injury, went back to the changing room half an hour earlier than the others as a precautionary measure.
The training session on Wednesday was not only the final open session ahead of the almost completely sold out Hannover game but also the last open session before the summer break and the last open session for Stefan Kießling with his career at Leverkusen coming to an end after 12 years on Saturday. After the session was over, he undoubtedly had the longest way back to the changing rooms as he patiently fulfilled all signature and selfie requests from the fans at the training ground.
From Thursday, the Werkself have two further training sessions behind closed doors ahead of the decisive and final game of the season.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has gained a new partner in digital gaming platform Crown Coins, which joins the Bundesliga runners-up's Sponsors Club with immediate effect. The one-and-a-half-year contract runs until 30 June 2027.
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The Werkself host VfB Stuttgart this evening (10 January, 18:30 CET), a side whose recent Bundesliga form has been indifferent but who have regularly produced top performances in the DFB Pokal and UEFA Europa League, and who have a key player back in the squad in striker Ermedin Demirovic. Off the pitch, the BayArena faithful will be able to see the remaining stoppage time live on the video screens. The Matchday News.
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The Werkself face a tough challenge in the first game of 2026 when VfB Stuttgart visit the BayArena on Saturday, 10 January (kick-off: 18:30 CET). Ahead of the top-of-the-table clash, Kasper Hjulmand spoke about his impressions of training this week, anticipation of the start of the new calendar year and the personnel situation.
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