Back
27.11.2018Bayer 04

Herrlich announces rotation for home game against Ludogorets

Bayer 04 are already through to the knock-out rounds so now it is all about winning the group. In Thursday's final home fixture in the Europa League group stage the Werkself entertain the Bulgarian champions Ludogorets (18.55 CET). Heiko Herrlich's team are looking to hold all the cards as leaders of Group A ahead of the final away game in Larnaca (13 December).
20181127_training_CK6P3761.jpg

"We said from the start we wanted to finish top of the group. Nothing's changed in that respect," said Heiko Herrlich after the Tuesday morning training session as he clearly set out the target for Thursday. Nevertheless, the Werkself head coach will use the confirmed progress to the Round of 32 to give some of the players with less match time under their belts the  opportunity to play against Ludogorets and "show what they can do and stake a claim for a place in the team."

The two Bender brothers missed full training in the first session of the week on Monday and instead completed individual sessions in the gym at the BayArena and Aleksandar Dragovic plus Jakub Bednarczyk trained on their own on a neighbouring pitch. Long-term injury Pohjanpalo (rehab training) and Tin Jedvaj (muscular problems) missed the Tuesday training session. A decision on the availability of the Croat for Thursday will be made after tomorrow's final pre-match training session.

The next and, at the same time, final open training session of the week will be held on Friday at 11.00 CET.

Related News

Werkself seals playoff spot against Villarreal | 8th matchday UCL
Werkself-TV - 28.01.2026

TV highlights of the 3-0 win against Villarreal

Werkself TV shows highlights of the 3-0 win against FC Villarreal on matchday 8 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league phase...

Show more
Werkself beim Torjubel
Champions League - 28.01.2026

Werkself seal play-off spot with 3-0 win against Villarreal

The Champions League journey continues! On the eighth and final matchday of the league phase of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26, Bayer 04 secured their place in the play-offs with a commanding 3-0 win over Villarreal. Malik Tillman put in a mature and combative performance for Leverkusen, scoring a brace (12', 35') to make it 2-0 at the break, while Alejandro Grimaldo (57') and plenty of control of the game did the rest in the second half. The draw for the Werkself's next UCL opponents will take place on Friday 30 January at 12:00 CET.

Show more
Sean und Marc Landwehr
eSports - 28.01.2026

#B04eSports: Leverkusen advance to offline round in fourth showdown

The Leverkusen eSports team played the remaining three of the six matches in the online preliminary round of the fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg were among the teams with the highest goal threat, including two World Cup participants in their ranks. Although the #B04eSports players were defeated in the matches overall, nine points from the first three games last week were enough for Leverkusen to advance to the offline round in Berlin on 2 February.

Show more
Die PK mit Vázquez und Hjulmand vor dem UCL-Heimspiel gegen Villarreal | 8. Spieltag UCL
Werkself-TV - 27.01.2026

Hjulmand ahead of #B04VIL: ‘Play to win, that's our mentality’

A decisive showdown awaits: The Werkself are aiming to progress to the play-off round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League with a home win against Villarreal CF on the eighth and final matchday of the league phase. Ahead of the match on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the game, the possible return of Edmond Tapsoba and a statement from new signing Jonas Omlin in an exclusive interview with Werkself TV. Lucas Vázquez, for his part, spoke about his role on and off the pitch as well as tomorrow’s opponents, who he often faced in Spain with Real Madrid.

Show more