The Werkself will have to be on their toes if they are going to extend their run of wins in the Bundesliga. "Mainz have a team full of footballing ability. They make their opponents fight all the way. Players like John Cordoba and Yoshinori Muto are top strikers. They play with a lot of intelligence so we'll have to be on our guard," explained the coach.
Previous meeting as warning
FSV Mainz 05 have lost their last six away games in the Bundesliga. However, that fact does not diminish the difficulty of the challenge as Roger Schmidt explained: "We saw in the previous meeting how strong Mainz are on the break if we’re not tight enough at the back. We had to produce a great second half to turn the game round. We can learn a lot from the match earlier in the season."
Schmidt assessed the performance of his players against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League as, "not at all disappointing. We didn't produce a perfect performance and, at this level, you get punished by one of the top European teams. The match was complicated but we never lost our courage. We want to use this experience to secure a third league win in succession at Mainz."
There is not much change in availability since Tuesday night. Hakan Calhanoglu is still suspended. Jonathan Tah is still injured. Danny da Costa also misses out. Schmidt said: "Danny got a kick on the toe." The prospects are "positive" for Lars Bender. Schmidt: "It's looking good. But it's still unclear whether he can play tomorrow. I'll wait for the final pre-match training session and then I'll talk to him." Wendell, who picked up a third yellow card against Augsburg last week, will have to watch the match from the stands.
Bayer 04 expect a crowd of 27,000, including 1,000 supporters from Mainz. Tickets will be available on the day.
After eight years in the youth set-up at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Benjamin Adam is leaving the club. The 35-year-old, who most recently coached the Leverkusen U17s, will take charge of the Hansa Rostock U19 team next season.
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There was a successful end to the women's internationals with Werkself players Carlotta Wamser and Cornelia Kramer qualifying for the 2027 World Cup finals in Brazil. A third Leverkusen player is still in with a chance of joining them. The Germany U23 players also experienced success in their last two international friendlies of the season.
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Traveling to North America for the World Cup this summer to see your favorite Bayer 04 players? Here’s a quick cheat sheet with thumbnail portraits and insider tips for each city from a local expert, so you can make the most of your visit and activities beyond the game!
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A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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