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.
A disciplined defensive performance in the second leg saw Bayer 04 prevail against Olympiacos in the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. Thanks to the 2-0 away win in the first leg, the goalless draw at home at the BayArena was enough to ensure progress to the next round. The Black and Reds kept their opponents away from their goal for the best part of 90 minutes.
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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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