Back
17.04.2024Werkself-TV

Alonso ahead of #WHUB04: “The players give me no doubt”

After the week’s celebrations of the club’s first ever league title, Bayer 04 are now focused once again on their UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg away at West Ham United on Thursday (kick-off: 9pm CEST). The Werkself are in a good position with a 2-0 lead from the first game, but it’s not over yet, as head coach Xabi Alonso and midfielder Granit Xhaka stressed at their pre-match press conference in London on Wednesday evening.

Display videos

Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.

Xhaka called London home for seven years during his time at Arsenal and said he had a “great time here”. Now the Switzerland international returns for the first time with Bayer 04 and is preparing for an encounter at the London Stadium, where the 31-year-old experienced a number of exciting match-ups. “There are regularly over 60,000 people in the stadium. Same again tomorrow. And they definitely won’t be there for us. But we come here with great confidence from the first leg and want to progress. That’s clear,” he said.

Xhaka: “We’re very hungry”

When asked, the midfielder didn’t want the weekend’s title celebrations to be an excuse for Thursday. “Obviously we celebrated a little, but within reason. We have a big task ahead of us again tomorrow. We want to reach the semi-finals. We’re very hungry.”

Coach Alonso is expecting a “hard game. West Ham showed Freiburg that they can overcome a first-leg defeat.” The Hammers had lost 1-0 in Germany in their round of 16 tie but then progressed thanks to a 5-0 win back at home. “We’ll play our game and definitely won’t just defend. That’s not our way,” he added.

Granit Xhaka

The Spaniard firmly believes that the Werkself will again perform well in this second leg: “The players give me no doubt about believing in them. Their concentration, focus and hunger are special.”

More than 3,000 travelling fans

The Werkself can count on the support of over 3,000 travelling fans from Leverkusen for a sold-out away section at the London Stadium.

One person who isn’t in the UK capital is Borja Iglesias. “He’s got muscular problems. We need to wait and see how things are with him in the coming days. It could well be that he also misses Dortmund. We need to see with him and Adam Hlozek whether they’ll be ready for the Stuttgart game,” explained Alonso, who otherwise has a full squad at his disposal. And they are all ready, as the coach explained, since “we want to take our big chance in the Europa League as well.”

Related News

Women lose to SGS Essen at home | 11th matchday
Werkself-TV - 22.11.2025

Women: TV highlights of 0-1 loss against SGS Essen

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss against SGS Essen on the 11th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.

Show more
Die PK vor dem Auswärtsspiel beim VfL Wolfsburg | 11. Spieltag
Werkself-TV - 21.11.2025

Hjulmand ahead of #WOBB04: Wolfsburg ‘better than their points tally suggests’

Following the international break, Bayer 04 are away to VfL Wolfsburg on Bundesliga matchday 11 in 2025/26, on Saturday, 22 November (kick-off: 15:30 CET) in the first of eight matches between now and Christmas. Ahead of the game at the Volkswagen Arena, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the Wolves, the reunion with some familiar faces and the latest updates on his own squad.

Show more
Christian Eriksen und Co.
Bundesliga - 21.11.2025

Our next opponents: VfL Wolfsburg press reset button

VfL Wolfsburg are looking for a fresh start after parting company with head coach Paul Simonis and sporting director Sebastian Schindzielorz during the recent international break. The Wolves are looking to kick off their revival this Saturday, 22 November (kick-off: 15:30 CET), in the home game against the Werkself. The lowdown on our next opponents.

Show more
Dieter Herzog
Bayer 04 - 20.11.2025

Bayer 04 mourns the passing of Dieter Herzog

His loss has left Bayer 04 deeply saddened: Dieter Herzog, World Cup winner in 1974 and seven years playing for Bayer 04, passed away this week at the age of 79.

Show more
Schnappschuss im Training
Women - 20.11.2025

‘Establish ourselves in the chasing pack’: Women welcome SGS Essen

A week after the disappointing DFB Pokal exit at Hamburger SV, the Bayer 04 Women return to league action. In a home match against SGS Essen on Saturday, 22 November (kick-off: 14:00 CET at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium), coach Roberto Pätzold's team will be fighting to maintain a good position in the chasing pack in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.

Show more