The players who have travelled certainly have the quality required. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala, Gianluigi Buffon – they all landed with the rest of the squad at Cologne/Bonn Airport this afternoon. The German players Emre Can (not in Champions League) and Sami Khedira (injured) have stayed behind in Northern Italy. Also absent are Matthijs de Ligt, who has been rested, plus the injured Giorgio Chiellini, Aaron Ramsey, Douglas Costa as well as the former Bayern Munich player Mario Mandzukic who is ineligible.
Coach Sarri will only announce his line-up on the day of the match but the 60-year-old did make it clear at the pre-match press conference: “Of course, we have already qualified but I would still like to see a good performance from my team in this competition.” And midfield maestro Miralem Pjanic stressed at the press conference that the Juve players “have an absolute winning mentality and want to win every game.”
In response to questions about a possible fraught relationship between Sarri and the team, Pjanic had an answer ready. “We have full confidence in our new coach. After five years of Allegri (former coach Massimiliano Allegri, ed.) it’s clear not everything can work straightaway. You can’t expect perfection after five months of working together,” said the 29-year-old, who then talked about the opponents Bayer 04: “We’ve already played Leverkusen. They are a very strong team. They are at home and can still qualify – they will try everything. It won’t be easy for us.”
Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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