"We have to completely focus on Hoffenheim. I said to my players before the draw yesterday that the Champions League campaign only starts in three weeks time. The only thing that counts now is the Hoffenheim game," said Peter Bosz looking to avoid being distracted by talk about the attractive opponents in Europe's premier club competition. Indeed he expressed the opposite view at the press conference held in the media centre at the BayArena shortly before the final training session. The head coach wanted to set a good example. "When I go to the dressing room, I won't talk about the draw but just about Hoffenheim," said Bosz.
For a good reason: The Black and Reds have made a perfect start to the 57th Bundesliga season with two wins in two games. "We have to carry on," demanded the 55-year-old in looking for another improvement in performance against the team that finished ninth last season. "We improved week by week in the pre-season. Now I've seen that in the competitive matches: Our game against Paderborn was better than the one against Aachen. And I hope our game against Hoffenheim will be better than the last one against Düsseldorf," said the Dutchman who can look back at an impressive seven wins and one draw in the last eight games over the two seasons.
A third win in succession beckons ahead of the forthcoming international break. Peter Bosz and his coaching staff have almost a full squad to choose from. The only absentee for the game against TSG is Joel Pohjanpalo who has only just started rehab training after the reaction in his right foot.
Lars Bender and Co. did not perform well in the last outing against the team from Sinsheim: Last season there were two 4-1 defeats against a TSG side that has seen major changes to the squad over the summer. Back then, Kerem Demirbay and Nadiem Amiri were playing for the Blue and Whites and now, after their move to Leverkusen in the summer, they are set for the first game against the former club. In addition to the former Hoffenheim player Kevin Volland and assistant coach Xaver Zembrod, Saturday brings a reunion for Peter Bosz with a former colleague. Alfred Schreuder, who took over the helm from Julian Nagelsmann, played alongside the Werkself head coach in the Netherlands for Feyenoord (1991 to 1993) as well as NAC Breda (1999). "He was a very intelligent player and you can see that now as a coach too: He loves tactics – his teams have always played good football. With him you can really see that there is an idea behind everything and that he is a coach who develops his players and his team," said Bosz in praising his nine-year younger fellow countryman who was able to celebrate his first win in Germany's top flight last weekend with a last-minute 3-2 victory over Werder Bremen. TSG lost 1-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt in the first league game of the season..
Match information
Recent results: 1-4 (H), 1-4 (A)
Weather forecast: 32 degrees, sunny
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Berlin)
Live TV broadcaster: Sky Sport
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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