
Regardless of the late withdrawal of Benjamin Henrichs and Jonathan Tah, head coach Heiko Herrlich will have to make do without six first team players. While it is the last chance saloon for two of the Werkself stars and their national teams, the others are involved in friendly fixtures.
Admir Mehmedi (Switzerland) and Panos Retsos (Greece) are battling for a place in next year's World Cup finals in Russia: Switzerland are away to Northern Ireland on Thursday (9 November, 20.45 CET) with the return match in Basel on Sunday (12 November, 18.00 CET). Greece take on Croatia in the World Cup play-offs – the first leg is on Thursday (20.45 CET) and the second leg is at home in Piraeus on Sunday (20.45 CET).
Bernd Leno and Julian Brandt are under far less pressure ahead of joining the Germany squad on Tuesday. They are possibles for the friendlies against England on Friday (10 November, 21 .00 CET) and France in Cologne a week on Tuesday (14 November, 20.45 CET).
The captain of Austria, Julian Baumgartlinger, has also been called up for a friendly: 'Baumi' and his fellow Austrians face Uruguay (Tuesday, 14. November, 20.45 CET). Heiko Herrlich will be without the services of Joel Pohjanpalo over the next few days as the 23-year-old is in the Finland squad for the game against Estonia on Thursday 9 November at 18.00 CET.
In addition to the six players from the first team, two Bayer 04 youth players are also away on international duty: Sam Schreck and Atakan Akkaynak are set to play for the Germany U19s in a friendly against Cyprus (Sunday, 12 November, 14.30 CET).
The aforementioned Bayer 04 players are unavailable for the Werkself in the friendly against second division MSV Duisburg on Thursday (9 November) at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium (15.00 CET, free entry).

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have secured a new premium partner in the form of DRIVIO. DRIVIO, already part of the club’s partner portfolio as a reliable car subscription partner for Bayer 04, will continue to support the club in this capacity and, with immediate effect, also join the premium group of companies that cooperate closely with the Werkself. The premium and car subscription partnership between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and DRIVIO will initially run until 30 June 2027.
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Following last weekend’s big game against Wolfsburg, Bayer 04 Women face another exciting challenge as they visit Hoffenheim to kick off Matchday 3 in the Google Pixel Bundesliga on Friday (kick-off: 18:30 CEST).
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Under the slogan ‘Holidays without War’, 60 children from war-torn Ukraine took part in the summer camp organised by the German-Ukrainian association Blau-Gelbes Kreuz in Leverkusen and the surrounding area in August. The children aged between 10 and 14 – many of whom have lost their parents in the war – come from the Ukrainian twin towns of Leverkusen, Cologne and Monheim am Rhein: Nikopol, Dnipro and Volodymyr. Bayer 04, Bayer AG and TSV Bayer 04 supported the camp to mark its 10th anniversary, enabling even more children and young people than in previous years to spend a few carefree days’ holiday away from the war in the Rhineland.
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Midfielder Ruby Grant is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and joining Portuguese runners-up Sporting CP a year before her contract expires. The 24-year-old has been at the Werkself since January 2025.
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New to Leverkusen and straight up onto the roof at the BayArena: Guéla Doué has arrived. In an interview with Werkself TV, the new right-back talks about his previous links with Bayer 04 and how much he’s looking forward to his first home match. Have a look!
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