Ahead of the run-in and the important game against the Royal Blues, who are just three points ahead, Peter Bosz has used the past few quiet days, to enable "several players to wind down so that they are fit and fresh for the next games. We've worked well."
A new pitch has been laid at the BayArena in the last week – that means the Werkself play Schalke on a completely new surface. "We are a team who like to have possession and get forward quickly with few touches of the ball so it’s incredibly important that we have a good pitch. We trained on the new pitch yesterday and first impressions were good," said the head coach.
Another good precondition for the home game is last Saturday’s sensational victory in Munich that still resonates: "The team showed they can only play possession football but also work well against the ball, be quick in transition and very dangerous with the pace shown getting forward," said Bosz. He has been particularly impressed by the battling quality of his team. "We were lucky too – without doubt – but we showed character and mentality. And we also need to show that against Schalke 04. We know it won't be an easy game. But we want to win – particularly at home!"
Schalke 04, of all the current Bundesliga teams, have only collected fewer points against FC Bayern (0.8) than they have against the Werkself (1.1) and are currently third in the table – "if you're at the top after 13 games then you must have done a lot of things right," said the Dutchman who rightly pointed out that Bayer 04 would draw level on points at the weekend with a win. The route to the target is: Play quick passes, manage with a few touches the ball and have good positional play. As "Schalke are a team that plays with aggression and tries to constantly press the ball. We won't have long on the ball."
Bosz has all the players at his disposal who were available for the game against FC Bayern with the exception of the suspended Jonathan Tah. Only Mitchell Weiser and Joel Pohjanpalo are still ruled out through injury.
Match info:
Referee: Harm Osmers
TV broadcaster: Sky
Tickets: Bayer 04 are expecting a capacity crowd at the BayArena
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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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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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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