A total of 25 players took part in the final pre-match training session on Wednesday morning ahead of the first chance to win the Europa League group. Charles Aránguiz, Lucas Alario, Patrik Schick and Karim Bellarabi were all involved at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium after missing recent matches.
The only players missing were the injured Julian Baumgartlinger and Mitchel Bakker plus Kerem Demirbay, who is unable to play on Thursday due to a red card in the last Europa League match against Real Betis (4-0). The playmaker, who suffered a blow to his ribs at the weekend in the 1-0 win against VfL Bochum, completed a rehab session at the gym at the BayArena.
Agenda item number one on the pitch at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium was the obligatory birthday greeting for Lukas Hradecky. The 32-year-old Werkself captain was welcomed by a ‘guard of honour’ of his teammates. Then the players in white went on to complete a warm-up routine with fitness coach Bob Schoos before working with the ball.
Kerem Demirbay was shown a red card in the final minutes of the fourth group match against Real Betis at the start of November. There is talk of the midfielder having to serve a three-match ban in the Europa League. Bayer 04 are in contact with UEFA and are looking to achieve a reduction in the suspension. As stated, Demirbay will definitely miss the game against Celtic.
The Celtic group land in Germany in the early evening on Wednesday and head straight to the team hotel; the final pre-match training session and press conference for Joe Hart and Co. were held in Scotland.
Coach Ange Postecoglou praised the quality of the Werkself on Wednesday. “They are a good team who who have hit form in the league. We know what they can do and what we will face. They are a Champions League team,” said the Celtic boss.
Lukas Hradecky celebrated his 32nd birthday one day ahead of the Europa League clash. The Werkself goalkeeper and captain of the Werkself signed for Bayer 04 from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018. The Finn has made 107 Bundesliga appearances for the Black and Reds to date and he became captain of the team this season. Many happy returns, Lukas!
The former Leverkusen assistant coach Hendrik ‘Hendrie’ Krüzen celebrates his 57th birthday today (Wednesday). The Dutchman joined Bayer 04 with former Werkself head coach Peter Bosz just before Christmas 2018 and was in the Black and Red dugout for 108 games. The Dutch coaches ended their time at Leverkusen in March of this year and Krüzen and Co. are now at the top French club Lyon. Happy birthday, Hendrie.
The successor to Sergi Runge as head coach of the Bayer 04 U19 team has been decided. Following the Spaniard's appointment to Kasper Hjulmand's first team coaching staff, the current U17 head coach Kevin Brok (photo) will be responsible for the U19s until the end of the season. As a result, Benjamin Adam will also move up a year and will now coach the U17s instead of the U16s, also until the end of the season. The structure of the coaching and support staff will remain unchanged.
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The Werkself are away to Mainz 05 on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game at the MEWA ARENA is on Saturday, 18 October, with the kick-off at 15.30 CEST. Read on for information on ticket sales.
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After opening the Google Pixel Bundesliga season in front of a German record crowd, Bayer 04 Women now play their first home game of 2025/26 as they host promoted Union Berlin at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Monday (kick-off: 6pm CEST) looking to turn their good performance in Munich into points this time.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 3-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt on the 3rd matchday of the Bundesliga 2025/26...
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