“We’ve got the most important thing in the bag,” said the Werkself head coach Hannes Wolf as he briefly looked back at his first outing with the Black and Reds and the three points against the Royal Blues. The Bayer 04 squad had “a very good week of training with lots of sessions” behind them. “The players have really got involved and it was great fun for all of them.” Wolf had good news about the injury situation.
The head coach has the same squad available for the game in Sinsheim as he did against Schalke 04. Daley Sinkgraven is also an option again. The left-back missed the last four games due to a muscle injury. Paulinho is also back in full training following his torn cruciate but Wolf said the clash with TSG “has come too soon after his long injury lay-off .” With the exception of the long-term absentees Santiago Arias, Julian Baumgartlinger, Lars Bender and Timothy Fosu-Mensah plus Paulinho, all the other players are available for the matchday squad.
Wolf has placed great store in the right balance between attack and defence in his work on the training ground. It is down to the whole team regardless of which eleven players start this time. “We have very good options in every position and are happy we can make five substitutions,” said the Werkself head coach. “I hope that carries on after the coronavirus pandemic. It’s just a very good rule for team sport.”
The content of training sessions during the week was influenced by structural considerations as well as playing fast moves. Exactly the right preparation for the away game at Hoffenheim as Wolf declared in his analysis of the forthcoming opponents: “They have high quality, a lot of footballing class and pace in attack. Neither them nor us have a negative approach to this game. Therefore, it will be a very interesting watch.”
As it stands, this will be last Bundesliga fixture on a Monday night. This kick-off time is particularly unpopular with the fans and is set to be scrapped next season with #TSGB04 the last Monday game this term. Wolf: “I think this timing is difficult in normal times. Fans like to travel and they have to go to work or take their children to school the next day. I can really understand the day not being used in the future. In terms of the match tomorrow, I can say: We really want to win the Monday night game.”
Match information:
Broadcasters: DAZN and Werks11 Radio
Referee: The match officials will be announced on the day of the game
Bosnia U19 international Kerim Alajbegovic is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen's youth set-up to Red Bull Salzburg. The talented attacking midfielder has signed a long-term contract with the Austrian club. At the same time, the works club secured a buy-back option for the 17-year-old, who was one of the mainstays of the Leverkusen U19s.
Show moreThe Werkself are away to Premier League club Chelsea in the final pre-season friendly. The game against the current holders of the UEFA Conference League is on Friday, 8 August at Stamford Bridge with the kick-off at 20:00 CEST. Read on for information on ticket sales.
Show moreThe Werkself are away to Dutch top-flight club Fortuna Sittard in the third pre-season friendly. The match is on Friday, 1 August at the Fortuna Sittard stadium with the kick-off at 19:00 CEST. Read on for information on ticket sales.
Show moreThe Werkself are away to VfL Bochum in the second pre-season friendly. The match is on Sunday, 27 July at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion with the kick-off at 18:00 CEST. Read on for the latest information on ticket sales.
Show more