The first training session in the New Year will be on Friday 3 January. Lars Bender and Co. will be hard at work on the training ground at the BayArena from 11.30 CET. The training camp starts the following day.
The team plus staff fly out to Murcia to spend a week in La Manga. In addition to the training sessions, there are two friendlies at La Manga Club on Friday 10 January at 14.00 and 16.00 CET. The opponents will be announced at a later date.
After returning to Leverkusen, the squad will train at the BayArena before the start of the second half of the season. The Werkself play SC Paderborn on Sunday 19 January. The kick-off at the Benteler Arena is at 18.00 CET at the end of matchday 18.
The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
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Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
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