The Werkself have now gone five games in all competitions without a win. Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Gerardo Seoane and Robert Andrich were agreed that the team will soon get back to winning ways. The Werkself number eight said: "We'll play together as a team again – I'm sure of that!"
There is great anticipation ahead of the clash with the team currently lying fifth in La Liga: "Matchdays are the best days of the week. We are all in good spirits, everybody in the team and on the staff are competitive types," declared Seoane ahead of the clash on the fourth matchday, which could prove to be very significant in terms of the final positions at the top of Group G.
With seven points each, the Werkself and Real Betis are currently in pole position to progress to the knockout stages. A potential three points in front of the home crowd could give the Black and Reds a cushion in the race for first place, which would guarantee progress to the Round of 16. "We are only focusing on our performance and not making any calculations," Seoane made clear. However, the Swiss coach did say that defending top spot is "obviously the target."
To ensure that happens, the 43-year-old and his staff have analysed recent games in detail and found starting points, "to improve our performances. We are self-critical but continue to be ambitious."
Definitely ruled out for Thursday night are the injured players Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Charles Aránguiz, Julian Baumgartlinger, Patrik Schick, Karim Bellarabi and Mitchel Bakker. It remains to be seen whether Lucas Alario will be able to play. The Argentina striker has suffered muscular problems for several weeks. Against that background, the 29-year-old worked on his own on Wednesday.
Robert Andrich will definitely be in the line-up. The defensive midfielder, signed by Bayer 04 from Union Berlin in the summer, wants to contribute his "personality and aggression" to help get the performances and results for the Werkself back on track. Andrich: "Everyone knows what's happened in the past few weeks. We now have an even closer focus and are, above all, taking care of the basics."
Match information:
Broadcasters: RTL, RTL+ and Werkself Radio
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
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He knows the dressing room, the pitch and the club. But, above all, he knows the feeling of playing for the Werkself at the BayArena: Moussa Diaby is back in Leverkusen after three years. The lightning-fast winger has signed a contract with Bayer 04 until 2031 and he will once again wear the number 19 jersey. The left-footed player previously played for the club from 2019 to 2023, having arrived in the Rhineland from his native France as a promising young talent and eventually leaving the club – having established himself as one of the Bundesliga’s best attackers – to join Aston Villa in the Premier League. Now he has returned to Bayer 04 from Al-Ittihad FC in Saudi Arabia.
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