
Julian Baumgartlinger, Aleksandar Dragovic and Tin Jedvaj were back in their black and red training kit yesterday– the trio completed a session in the weights room. Today they were back on the training ground – together with the three Germany players Julian Brandt, Kai Havertz and Jonathan Tah. In cool temperatures, the session lasted 90 minutes with a range of drills at the tail end of the run-in to this week's home game.
Isaac Kiese Thelin and Paulinho are expected to return tomorrow for the final pre-match training session. Both were involved in internationals on Tuesday. At the end of the Nations League group stage, Kiese Thelin’s Sweden knocked Russia off top spot in Group B2 to secure promotion to the A Group - thanks to a 2-0 win in a meeting of the two teams. The Werkself number 11 came off the bench for the final 20 minutes; the second goal for the 'Tre Konor' was scored shortly after he came on. Paulinho played the first half for the Brazil U20s in the second friendly against Colombia in five days (2-2).
The third international missing on Wednesday was Jakub Bednarczyk. The Poland U20 international had to go off half an hour into Monday's game against Ukraine due to a thigh muscle problem. The 19-year-old will undergo a through examination by the medical section in Leverkusen.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with Germany U19 international Montrell Culbreath. The attacking midfielder and right winger has penned a deal with the Bundesliga club that runs to 30 June 2030. Culbreath has played for the Werkself as a youth player since 2023. Last December, he scored his first Bundesliga goal for the Leverkusen first team in the Bayer 04 3-1 away win at RB Leipzig.
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The Werkself's 3-0 victory over Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League certainly left many happy faces: Malik Tillman was delighted with his brace, Robert Andrich with the clean sheet and coach Kasper Hjulmand with the "manner" of this significant home win. With an overwhelming superiority and over 75 per cent possession at times, Bayer 04 deserved their place in the UCL play-off round. They will face a familiar foe in February. The Werkself review.
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Werkself TV shows highlights of the 3-0 win against FC Villarreal on matchday 8 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league phase...
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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.
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