"Wolfsburg have two difficult seasons behind them and ambitions were certainly higher after being in the Champions League. But the performances in the first two games this season show they don't want to go through the same experience again," said the Werkself head coach Heiko Herrlich at Friday's pre-match press conference – held at the media centre in the BayArena immediately after the Europa League group draw – looking at progress in the DFB Cup (1-0 at Regional League side SV Elversberg) and the surprise win against Schalke 04. "They have a number of highly talented players and last week beat a club who are among the front runners for a Champions League finish. We want to get there too but it does also show what Wolfsburg are capable of. We definitely won't underestimate them, we're up against an opponent looking to compete on equal terms," said the 46-year-old.
The Bayer 04 coach is optimistic his players will perform better than in last week's game at Gladbach. On one hand, chances should be taken against Wolfsburg and, on the other, the drop in performance levels in the second half should be avoided. "Our ambitions are clear in that we want to win all our games. We showed that in the first half against Gladbach by creating good chances. You could criticise the lads for not scoring – but they didn't miss deliberately and they wouldn't do that," said Herrlich. His players eased off after the restart and were guilty of an increasing number of individual mistakes. "We had that situation on a number of occasions last season. But you can't forget we were the second youngest team. I think it's quite possible our players will soon be at a point when they perform perfectly. But that's a process we are working on with them and I believe we are on track," said Herrlich who emphasised that his Werkself team is eager to be successful.
The coach is keen to see a positive effect from the international call up for his players during the week, which included Kai Havertz being in the Germany squad for the first time. "I think it can produce a positive atmosphere." The conditions are there to register a home win against VfL Wolfsburg tomorrow.
And the personnel situation has eased at Leverkusen. Lars and Sven Bender, not in the squad for the Gladbach game due to injury, are available for the opening home fixture. Charles Aránguiz was also able to take part in full training this week as he works hard on making his comeback after knee problems. As was the case last week, the 29-year-old Chilean could be in the squad again. That also applies to Lukas Hradecky – in a Bayer 04 kit for the first time. The Finland keeper has recovered from a jaw operation in the middle of July and is also ready to make his comeback. "As I said at the start of the week, Rambo Özcan will start. But Lukas will be on the bench for the first time tomorrow," confirmed Herrlich.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
Show more
Bayer 04’s eight opponents in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League have been confirmed. At the draw on Friday 28 August held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the Werkself were drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots. There are a total of four home and four away matches. Read on for details of opponents and fixture dates.
Show more
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-3 loss at SV 07 Elversberg on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
Show more
No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
Show more
