The new Werkself head coach Peter Bosz took over the helm at Bayer 04 on 4 January. Following victories in last week's three friendlies against Enschede, Zwolle and Münster, the 55-year-old Dutchman is set to make his debut in charge of the Werkself against Gladbach. And, with his six-month spell at Borussia Dortmund ending in December 2017, this is also his comeback in the Bundesliga. "The time at Dortmund was much too short. I believe I can show the people here the real coach Peter Bosz. I've not finished yet," he said when taking up his post. A statement that can be taken as a challenge. His first game against Borussia Mönchengladbach will bring back fond memories for the Werkself coach – at BVB he sent Gladbach packing with a 6-1 thrashing – the Gladbach coach Dieter Hecking has never lost a competitive match by a bigger margin.
It's a happy coincidence the Werkself like scoring against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Gladbach certainly experienced that at the end of October when Bayer 04 knocked the Black, White and Greens out of the DFB Cup. In 73 Bundesliga meetings, the Black and Reds have found the back of the Gladbach net 137 times – more than against any other German team. 77 of those goals came in the previous 36 home games with the Werkself winning 20 – also the best return. Hopefully there will be a flood of goals again on Saturday as the Werkself have not yet scored against Borussia in the league this term following the 2-0 defeat earlier on in the campaign. So the big finger is pointing to revenge – also in respect of the unofficial yet significant title of the 'Number one club on the Rhine', and the deficit could be reduced to six points. The stats are encouraging and a source of confidence: Bayer 04 last failed to score in a home game against Gladbach 23 years ago.
Bayer 04 have been doing well at home recently and they could be facing a young player called Beyer (again) on Saturday. (Perhaps a useful piece of information to avoid confusion in discussing the game). Even though the Gladbach number 15 definitely wants to avoid the Werkself inflicting home win 04 of the season against the rivals from the Lower Rhine – the last similar run of success at the BayArena came at the end of the season in 2015/16 under coach Roger Schmidt. The Black and Reds have only conceded one goal in the last three games on home turf. The number 1 also features in recent Gladbach away games – albeit in the number of goals scored! In general, the visitors have not enjoyed a spectacular run of results on the road this term: While Gladbach – with the exception of the DFB Cup exit against the Werkself – have won all of their home games at Borussia Park in the first half of the season, the Foals have only picked up nine points away from home in nine games (including two wins). 'The trend is your friend' is the saying on the stock markets – and hopefully that will apply at the BayArena on Saturday…
The match at the BayArena will be refereed by Daniel Siebert. In the past, the 34-year-old sports scientist, who can look back at refereeing 83 Bundesliga fixtures since 2012, has been in charge of nine competitive matches involving the Werkself including two cup ties – the last was the 6-2 defeat against Bayern Munich. Unfortunately, the last three games under Siebert have not ended in a win for the Werkself with the last victory over two years ago (2-0 against VfB Stuttgart on 20 March 2016). Time for a change! At least Peter Bosz has good memories of Daniel Siebert: In October 2017 the Dutchman saw his Borussia Dortmund team beat FC Magdeburg 5-0 in the second round of the DFB Cup. There is another parallel here: Magdeburg were the opponents for Bayer 04 in the first ever game under the FIFA referee. That was a cup tie in the second round that also saw Magdeburg go out of the competition.
First half of the season result: 0-2 (A)
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Berlin)
Weather forecast: 3°, sunny
Expected attendance: 32,000
TV broadcaster: Sky
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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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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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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