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.”
Bayer 04 are away in Bochum today (Saturday, 9 November) for Matchday 10 in the Bundesliga. Kick-off at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion is at 3.30pm CET. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
Show moreThe Bayer 04 Women's team are enjoying the best Hinrunde in their Bundesliga history with 17 points from the last eight games. In the home game against newly promoted Turbine Potsdam, the team under Roberto Pätzold have all the cards in their hands on Sunday (kick-off: 14.00 CET) at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium to extend their impressive record to date – even though the coach is not in the dugout due to suspension.
Show moreAmine Adli has agreed a contract extension at Bayer 04 to 2028. In interview, the 24-year-old talks about his new contract, Jeremie Frimpong's gesture of solidarity with the jersey and his aims for the years ahead.
Show moreThe final international break of the year is coming up. After the Bundesliga game away to VfL Bochum on Saturday, 9 November (kick-off: 15.30 CET), a number of Bayer 04 players will be in action including in the final group matches in the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 or in the next qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. The latest updates.
Show more