Since Sunday it has been clear that Charles Aránguiz will not travel to join the Chile squad. The 30-year-old suffered a hairline fracture to his right metatarsal and a thigh injury in the closing stages of the game against Leipzig. As a result he has withdrawn from the international squad due to injury.
Kai Havertz, Jonathan Tah and newcomer Nadiem Amiri are flying the Bayer 04 flag in the Germany squad. The friendly against Argentina, including team-mate Lucas Alario, on 10 October is followed by the third-last Euro 2020 qualifier. The leaders in Group C face Estonia (13 October) who have yet to register a point.
Austria coach Franco Foda has again called up two Werkself players: Julian Baumgartlinger and Aleksandar Dragović are in the Austria squad for the crucial Euro 2020 qualifiers against rivals Israel (10 October) and Slovenia (13 October). With four games to play, Austria are third in Group G (10 points), Israel are in fifth (a) and Slovenia second (11).
Finland, with Lukas Hradecky and returnee Joel Pohjanpalo, also have two important games. As the team lying second in Group J, the Finns (12) meet Bosnia-Herzegovina (12 October) and Armenia (15 October) who are in third and fourth places behind Finland. Two wins against the direct competition would make it virtually impossible for Finland not qualify. After a miserable year, Pohjanpalo could be set to make his first appearance for his national side since the the end of March 2018.
Panagiotis Retsos can also be hopeful of playing for the full international team in the Euro qualifiers: The 21-year-old is first set to help out the Greece U21 team (against the Czech Republic U 21 is on 10 October) and after that, the national coach John van 't Schip has included him in the senior squad for the first time in 18 months for the qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina (15 October). In the same group as Finland, Greece (five points) are only in with an outside chance of qualifying for the Euros.
Also on the road with their international teams are Paulinho (Brazil U23), Moussa Diaby (France U21) and Adrian Stanilewicz (Poland U20). In addition, the U19 players Marcel Lotka (Poland U19) and Hans Anapak (Cameroon U23) have also been called up.
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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