The team under head coach Gerardo Seoane face a quality side in last season's sixth-placed team in the Eredivisie who have established themselves in the top six of the Dutch league in recent years. German football fans will know about the former Hamburg and Bremen player Eljero Elia. The squad under the 49-year-old head coach René Hake is made up – as is usual in the Netherlands – of several experienced players (Urby Emanuelson, Adam Maher) as well as a lot of youngsters. The Utrecht goalkeeper is Eric Oelschlägel, twice a Super Cup winner with Borussia Dortmund and the only German player in the team.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the capacity at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium is 350 and all the tickets have already been sold. Fans were able to buy tickets for five euros with the proceeds going to the 'Leverkusen hilft' campaign organised by the Leverkusen community foundation, which is supporting victims of the floods financially.
Bayer 04 are broadcasting the second friendly for the Seoane team, with new signing Odilon Kossounou set to make his first appearance, live on the club's YouTube channel. The broadcast begins at 15.50 CEST with Niko Hartmann of Werkself Radio providing the commentary. Former Werkself keeper Ramazan 'Rambo' Özcan will share his assessment of the friendly and also talk about his new role as U19 goalkeeping coach at Bayer 04 at half-time.
HERE is the link to the live stream on YouTube.
Sandwiched between their UEFA Champions League knockout play-off tie against Olympiacos, Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action on Saturday with a trip to Union Berlin (kick-off: 15:30 CET). It’s a fixture of contrasting styles, with Leverkusen preferring to control the play while Union look to remain compact and counter. The Berliners are therefore suited to facing top teams, but they have only ever managed to win one of 16 meetings with the Werkself, who are looking for a fifth clean sheet of 2026 but will need to beware the home side’s threat from set pieces. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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After six wins in seven games, the Werkself will be looking to continue their winning run in the capital at FC Union Berlin. Coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke ahead of the match on Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET) about defenders, the short preparation time and the condition of the pitch at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
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Union Berlin have performed particularly well against the top clubs in the Bundesliga this season with a draw at home to Bayern Munich and wins against VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig. This Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET), the Irons now welcome the Werkself, currently sixth in the table, to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. And the hosts are in desperate need of a win. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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It took exactly 60 minutes for the Werkself to take the lead through a perfectly finished counter-attack by Patrik Schick in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off at Olympiacos. Referring to the meeting in the league phase and the initially squandered opportunities, coach Kasper Hjulmand said afterwards: "I thought: 'Oh no, déjà-vu.'" But after the opening goal, it took just 144 seconds for the Czech to spark more wild celebrations among those in black and red in the Greek cauldron, when Schick nodded in Alejandro Grimaldo's corner. Much to the delight of the Bayer 04 fans, his teammates and his coach, who had warm words for the striker in the aftermath. The Werkself Review.
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