The day after the 2-1 win in the DFB Cup Round of 16 tie against VfB Stuttgart, the Werkself training session on Thursday morning was aimed at recovery. Charles Aránguiz was back on the pitch but trained on his own. Julian Baumgartlinger (knock against Hoffenheim) and Sven Bender, who remained in the dressing room after the half-time break due to muscle problems against the team from Swabia, also missed out on the full training session. Exequiel Palacios, who made his debut for Bayer 04 last night, was also absent and he was particularly missed by the two assistant coaches of Argentina Wálter Samuel and Roberto Ayala as Lucas Alario was the only one of their two players at the training session. The Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was at the cup tie at the BayArena last night to have a look at his players.
The participants for the DFB Cup quarter-finals were confirmed last night. In addition to the Werkself, the Bundesliga clubs Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Schalke 04, Werder Bremen and Union Berlin plus the fourth division side FC Saarbrücken have qualified for the next round. The draw will be held at the German Football Museum in Dortmund on Sunday night at 18.00 CET and it will be made by former international Cacau who is currently working as the integration officer for the DFB. The DFB general secretary Friedrich Curtius will be in charge of the draw. ARD will broadcast the draw live on the Sportschau TV programme.
Once again it is time for Player of the Month and Kai Havertz has been nominated for the EA SPORTS January Player of the Month. The vote is made up of 40% from the fans plus 30% each from the Bundesliga clubs and selected pundits. The 20-year-old faces stiff competition: In addition to the Leverkusen player, Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho (both Borussia Dortmund), Leon Goretzka, Robert Lewandowski and Ivan Perisic (all Bayern Munich) have been nominated as well.
You can vote for Havertz HERE.
Stefan Kießling is a guest on 'Doppelpass' on Sunday morning – one subject of the football talk show will definitely be the home game for the Werkself against Borussia Dortmund (Saturday, 8 February, 18.30 CET). The programme will be broadcast from 11.00 CET on the Sport 1 channel.
“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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The Bundesliga is back at the BayArena this Saturday as Bayer 04 play their first home game of the 2026/27 campaign against Union Berlin (15:30 CEST). Moussa Diaby could make his second debut for the Werkself following his return to Leverkusen – and it would be an ideal fixture for the Frenchman. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the encounter in our matchday news.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 at TSG Hoffenheim on the 3rd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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The Bundesliga returns to the BayArena for 2026/27 as Bayer 04 host Union Berlin on Saturday (15:30 CEST) looking for their first points of the season after last week’s opening loss at Elversberg. Head coach Carles Martínez spoke ahead of the game about what he’s learned, the team’s newest signings and who could return to the squad.
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