
In addition to three goalkeepers, Peter Bosz had 17 outfield players (16 pros plus Jan Boller from the U19s) at his disposal. In addition to long-term injuries Joel Pohjanpalo and Panos Retsos, the head coach had to manage without Wendell plus Sven and Lars Bender who completed individual sessions. Bosz is not unduly concerned regarding the Bayern match: "I don't think that will be a problem." Also, Charles Aránguiz only completed part of the session with the team on the training ground before disappearing into the BayArena with the fitness coaches. "It was an intensive training session today – that wasn't suitable for everybody," said the coach.

The session on the pitch started for the Werkself, including birthday boy Sam Schreck, with a short passing game in two groups before Bosz extended the pitches for a one-touch session with his players. That was followed by short sprint drills, which Kevin Volland, Karim Bellarabi and Tin Jedvaj sat out, and a practice match at the end.. Peter Bosz stretched his players in an eight-a-side game on half a pitch. He played 5×8 minutes with exactly two minutes in between for a breather. "That's important for fitness levels," said the 55-year-old before the last short game as motivation.
There will be no full training session on Wednesday. The sessions on Thursday and Friday will be held behind closed doors as preparations continue in earnest for the game against Bayern. At the BayArena on Saturday, Bosz is expecting "a good game. Two teams face each other who like to get on the front foot. That’s always good for the fans," he said. "Bayern have to win – and they also want to win," said the Dutchman about the team currently lying second in the table, six points behind Borussia Dortmund ahead of matchday 20. "If it's possible, I'll do my former club a favour on Saturday," added Bosz with a wink of the eye. "But in case we win, we're primarily doing it for ourselves of course.”


The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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The Bundesliga is back. On Saturday 29 August (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to SV 07 Elversberg on matchday 1 of the new season. Ahead of the clash at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the importance of a successful start and the motivation of the league newcomers from the Saarland.
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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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