The players, coaches and staff met up early in the morning at the BayArena for a communal breakfast. Then it was off to Cologne/Bonn Airport with flight X3 8904 taking off from German soil at exactly 09.24 CET. Frankfurt, Budapest and Istanbul were overflown and the Boeing 737 landed in Tel Aviv at 13.15 CET.
On matchday 3 in the Europa League the Werkself play Hapoel Be’er Sheva in Petach Tikva, a few kilometres east of the city, on Thursday 5 November (kick-off: 18.55 CET).
As in the 6-2 home win against Nice, head coach Peter Bosz has included youth team striker Emrehan Gedikli in his squad. Absentees are Charles Aránguiz, Patrik Schick and Paulinho plus Santiago Arias, who are all injured or in rehab. Also missing is Karim Bellarabi following his red card in the 1-0 defeat against Slavia Prague. Right-back Mitchell Weiser has not been registered for the Europa League.
While Tel Aviv may well be unknown territory for some of the Werkself players, Bosz knows it really well – and he is not the only one in the Bayer 04 group. The 56-year-old took over the helm at the top Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv in January 2016. At his side like today: assistant coach Hendrie Krüzen. In the summer of this year, the Dutchman answered the call from the top club Ajax and he returned home to the Netherlands.
Rob Maas, again assistant coach to Bosz, filled the same role at Maccabi Haifa as the number two to Fred Rutten from the end of 2017 to November 2018. Maas was also caretaker coach for one game in November 2018.
But back to the forthcoming clash between the Werkself and Be’er Sheva: On Wednesday afternoon, Hapoel head coach Yossi Abukasis talked about the game against the Werkself. “We’ve had two games against strong opponents. Leverkusen are another top team we have to play. They have a great team,” said the 50-year-old who also emphasised: “But we also have a very good squad. Our previous results in the Europa League have been decent.” Be’er Sheva secured a surprise 3-1 win in the opening match against Slavia Prague. There was a narrow 1-0 defeat in the second game at Nice.
The experienced international referee Radu Petrescu is in charge of the first competitive match for the Werkself in Israel. The 37-year-old Rumanian is assisted by his fellow countrymen Radu Ghinguleac and Mircea Grigoriu. Petrescu has already refereed Bayer 04 in the Champions League away game at Lokomotive Moscow with the Black and Reds winning 2-0.
The clubs in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga have opened a new chapter in the history of women's football in Germany. With the official founding act of the "Frauen-Bundesliga FBL e.V." on Wednesday afternoon in Frankfurt am Main, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and the 13 other top-flight clubs have joined forces for the first time.
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The Bayer 04 U19s today, Wednesday 10 December (kick-off: 14:00 CET), host Newcastle United on the sixth and final matchday in the league phase of the UEFA Youth League. For coach Kevin Brok's team, the game against the English side is about securing a place in the next stage of the competition and a historic first appearance in the knockout phase. Werkself TV will broadcast the match live and free of charge from the Ulrich Haberland Stadium from 13:50 CET...
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Will Bayer 04 emulate their away wins at Benfica and Manchester City? Newcastle United are the visitors at a sold-out BayArena on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET/live on Werkself Radio) to round off the UEFA Champions League games for the year. Coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke in advance about the momentum in Europe's premier club competition and gave an encouraging personnel update. Jarell Quansah also spoke about his experiences playing against Nick Woltemade and his wish for the Bayer 04 fans.
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Newcastle United have amassed nine points after five matchdays, one more in the UEFA Champions League than the Werkself. The Magpies are also steadily improving in the Premier League, where they're currently unbeaten in four games. On Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Eddie Howe's side will be the visitors at the BayArena. He's also likely to field two Germany internationals in the game. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The situation ahead of the showdown is clear - and promising. The Bayer 04 U19s host Newcastle United on the sixth and final matchday of the 2025/26 UEFA Youth League phase. A win at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium would see the Werkself go through to the knockout stages of the competition for the first time. Ahead of the clash on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 14:00 CET/livestream on bayer04.de and in the Bayer 04 app), coach Kevin Brok spoke about the successful build-up, his assessment of the match and the danger of underestimating the already eliminated English side.
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