Head coach Peter Bosz can again call on one more option in defence: The period of self-isolation for Edmond Tapsoba ended at the weekend. The 21 year old completed an individual session at the start of the week and took part in full training on Tuesday morning. Tapsoba tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from international duty with Burkina Faso.
Also back on the training ground on Tuesday was Nadiem Amiri after illness forced him to drop out of the clash with Hertha Berlin (0:0). The duo are an option for the squad for the Europa League away game at Nice on Thursday 3 December (kick-off: 21.00 CET).
The Bayer 04 team will head off for the south of France on Wednesday afternoon. The first duty on the Côte d'Azur is the pre-match press conference at the stadium. Head coach Bosz will be joined on the top table by central defender Jonathan Tah to answer questions on the fourth Europa League game of the season posed remotely by journalists.
Following his first-team debut in the Europa League home game against Hapoel Be’er Sheva (4-1), Emrehan Gedikli is now listed in the senior squad at bayer04.de plus in the print publications Werks11 Magazin and BayArena Aktuell. The 17-year-old central striker has played at Bayer 04 from the U8 side upwards. Information on the fifth youngest debutant at Bayer 04 is available on his profile page.
Who does not deserve a surprise from Bayer 04 for doing something special this year? Come to the Wiesdorf fan shop (Wiesdorfer Pl. 9, 51373 Leverkusen), fill out a card and hang it on the wishing tree - and the person you've named is in the draw!
Bayer 04 were away to Schalke 04 on 1 December 1979 on Bundesliga matchday 15. At that point, the Werkself were in twelfth position in the table in their first season in the top-flight. Schalke were fifth. Up to the match in Gelsenkirchen, Leverkusen were stronger at home but without a win on the road; but that changed on the first day in December.
Thanks to a brace from striker Peter Szech (40’, 71’), the Black and Reds beat the Royal Blues 2-0 to banish the bad luck away from home in the Bundesliga. The Neuss-born Szech played for Leverkusen from 1978 to 1982 before joining rivals Bayer 05 (predecessors of today's third division club KFC Uerdingen 05) and he ended his playing career in 1984 at RW Essen.
On Sunday 6 December (kick-off: 18.00 CET) the Black and Reds are again away to Schalke 04 – this time the roles are reversed. While the Werkself are currently third in the table, the Royal Blues are bottom. And in the away form table, Bayer 04 have considerably more points than back then: Leverkusen are second with eleven points from five games. Hopefully the result of the forthcoming game at the Veltins Arena can be a repeat of 1979…
The former Werkself centre forward Marcus Feinbier celebrated his 51st birthday on Monday. Born in Berlin, Feinbier played for the Leverkusen U19 team for a season in 1987 and then went on to spend six years in the first-team squad. During this time, he played 69 Bundesliga games for Bayer 04 and scored three goals. After his time under the Bayer Cross, Feinbier moved on to Hertha Berlin, Alemannia Aachen, FC Nürnberg and Fortuna Düsseldorf. Most recently, the 51-year-old was head coach at the amateur club FC Leverkusen. Bayer 04 wish: Belated happy birthday, Marcus.
Bayer 04 can go through to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the ninth time tonight, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET) and be in the top 16 clubs in Europe. A good omen: Leverkusen have progressed to the next round after winning the first leg in 20 of their 22 knockout rounds in European competitions to date. For their part, Greek record champions Olympiacos rested several players for last weekend’s league fixture ahead of the play-off second leg at the BayArena and will now do everything in their power to turn the tide with their usual aggressive and high pressing. The discussions on Werkself radio are likely to be just as intense as the battle on the pitch, with commentator Florian Bechholz welcoming honorary captain Stefan Kießling and goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Today’s matchday news.
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With the advantage of the 2-0 first-leg win in the play-offs, the Werkself are looking to book their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League at the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the home game against Olympiacos on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand and goalkeeper Janis Blaswich spoke about the position ahead of the match, the visitors' strength at set-pieces and a personnel issue for the home side.
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With a win in the Greek Super League last weekend, Olympiacos achieved success on the pitch ahead of the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg at Bayer 04 on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET). Coach José Luis Mendilibar rested many of his regular starters.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss against TSG Hoffenheim on the 19th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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