There is great excitement at Bayer 04 ahead of the last game for the Werkself this season. Given the points parity and the three-goal worse goal difference with fourth placed TSG Hoffenheim (at home to Borussia Dortmund) the last match of the season is not just about three points or three goals but also about three additional letters. To be more exact, it's about the competition Bayer 04 will be playing in next term: Champions League or Europa League. "I think about calculations like that too. But that doesn't achieve anything. We have to concentrate on ourselves – and winning the game against Hannover will be hard enough," said head coach Heiko Herrlich late on Monday afternoon.
As in recent weeks, the boss only involved the substitutes from the Bremen match on the training ground with the starting eleven and team-mates recovering from injury working at the BayArena. One exception was Dominik Kohr. The number 21 was – for at least around 60 minutes – with the two goalkeepers Ramazan Özcan and Niklas Lomb plus Lucas Alario, Karim Bellarabi, Benjamin Henrichs, Marlon Frey, Vladlen Yurchenko and Stefan Kießling in bright sunshine and summer temperatures on the training ground. For Kies it was the start of his last week as a pro before ending his playing career on Saturday against Hannover.
Positive news about Jonathan Tah. The 22-year-old is on the verge of returning to full training this week after his hip injury and Herrlich is confident about a possible appearance against Hannover. The same applies to Leon Bailey and Wendell, who were substituted at Bremen due to muscular problems. The captain Lars Bender and his brother Sven completed individual sessions on the training ground on Monday morning but it remains to be seen whether they will be available for the last game of the season. There is less optimism regarding Joel Pohjanpalo who is still in rehab training following an ankle injury.
The Werkself have two open training sessions this week (Tuesday and Wednesday, each at 10.30 CET) before a closed session on Thursday for final preparations ahead of the Hannover match.
The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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The Bundesliga is back. On Saturday 29 August (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to SV 07 Elversberg on matchday 1 of the new season. Ahead of the clash at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the importance of a successful start and the motivation of the league newcomers from the Saarland.
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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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