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“The winter break was good for us, enjoying a breather with our families. But now we’re glad to get going again,” Alonso stated at his press conference on Friday. “The players have come back with very good energy and in a good condition. We had a high tempo in training from the start. I also liked the friendly match [against Venezia]. We’re absolutely ready, although it’s always tough in Augsburg.” The Werkself in fact lost both meetings with the Bavarians last season.
Augsburg have been much better under Jess Thorup, earning 13 of their 18 points this season since the Dane took over in mid-October. “They’ve very much improved since then, also playing well in their friendly against Hoffenheim [1-0 win],” added Alonso. Augsburg rank bottom of the Bundesliga this season for possession (41.2%), while the Werkself are second with (60.7%), just behind Bayern Munich (61%).
Bayer 04 go to Augsburg without the injured Arthur and Victor Boniface, while Odilon Kossounou, Edmond Tapsoba and Amine Adli are competing at the Africa Cup of Nations. “We were prepared for the situation with the Cup of Nations,” Alonso explained. “We have a good squad and everyone is looking good.”
One of those is Patrik Schick, who bagged a hat-trick in the final game of last year against Bochum. “Patrik is very dangerous in the box and has excellent positional play. He’s also ready for 90 minutes,” the Spaniard stated before also mentioning: “Adam [Hlozek] can play there as well and is in good form. Same with Amine. We’ve got great confidence in every player in general.” It means the club is not under any pressure to sign any additional players. When asked, however, Alonso added: “But if a good option comes up, we’re ready.”
The Werkself will enjoy great support in Augsburg with 2,300 away fans accompanying the team, which is three times more than have ever watched Leverkusen at the WWK Arena.
The club can also announce at the start of this year that the number of away season tickets sold over the winter break has risen by over 200%.
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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