"Today we only practised drills rather than moves but it's good that Lars got through the session without any problems. That gives us hope that we can increase his workload over the week so he can be back on the pitch on Saturday," said Heiko Herrlich, who ruled the 28-year-old out of the Gladbach game. According to the medical section, the absence of Havertz, Volland and Wendell is due to resting them or controlling workloads. Sven Bender, recently sidelined with an ankle injury, was able to train on his own on Monday.
There is good news regarding Lukas Hradecky. The 28-year-old Finn left the protective helmet he has been wearing in training following his jaw operation in the dressing room. He also took part in goalkeeping training without his mask. There is no final diagnosis at the moment but it is to be assumed he will return to full training in the near future. However, Herrlich has ruled him out for Saturday: "We don't want to take any unnecessary risks with Lukas."Rambo Özcan will be in goal again for the first Werkself home game of the season.
A disciplined defensive performance in the second leg saw Bayer 04 prevail against Olympiacos in the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. Thanks to the 2-0 away win in the first leg, the goalless draw at home at the BayArena was enough to ensure progress to the next round. The Black and Reds kept their opponents away from their goal for the best part of 90 minutes.
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Bayer 04 can go through to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the ninth time tonight, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET) and be in the top 16 clubs in Europe. A good omen: Leverkusen have progressed to the next round after winning the first leg in 20 of their 22 knockout rounds in European competitions to date. For their part, Greek record champions Olympiacos rested several players for last weekend’s league fixture ahead of the play-off second leg at the BayArena and will now do everything in their power to turn the tide with their usual aggressive and high pressing. The discussions on Werkself radio are likely to be just as intense as the battle on the pitch, with commentator Florian Bechholz welcoming honorary captain Stefan Kießling and goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Today’s matchday news.
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With the advantage of the 2-0 first-leg win in the play-offs, the Werkself are looking to book their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League at the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the home game against Olympiacos on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand and goalkeeper Janis Blaswich spoke about the position ahead of the match, the visitors' strength at set-pieces and a personnel issue for the home side.
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With a win in the Greek Super League last weekend, Olympiacos achieved success on the pitch ahead of the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg at Bayer 04 on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET). Coach José Luis Mendilibar rested many of his regular starters.
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