The strategy of the Werkself head coach against the newcomers: Build on the good result and good performance in the 1-0 win at Mönchengladbach. "It was very important for the team for us to win there. You could see that in training during the week – the mood was completely different straightaway. But now it's important for us to carry on in exactly the same way," declared the Dutchman on Friday. The target: "We want to, and have to, win again against Bielefeld." That will need his team to produce the same energy and team performance as in the victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Good news about the Black and Red injury list: Recently sidelined Sven Bender returned to training alongside his teammates for the first time on Friday morning. The experienced defender could be in the line-up against DSC. Whether Florian Wirtz is an option after his positive coronavirus test remains to be seen. Bosz on the young forward: "He's doing very well and he trained on his own today. After tomorrow's final pre-match training session, we'll decide whether he’ll be ready for the squad on Sunday."
Arminia have played two games under new coach Frank Kramer. The successor to Uwe Neuhaus secured a 0-0 draw in the first match against Union Berlin. In Wednesday's rearranged game, Bielefeld did lose 2-0 to the visitors from Bremen but produced a decent performance, particularly before the break.
"It's possible there's new energy due to the new coach. Their game has changed a little and they are a bit more direct and get forward quicker," said Bosz. "However, it's still the same team. We've watched their games and know what to expect."
At the virtual press conference, the members of the media also talked about the Europa League away game at Rangers (3-1). It is exactly one year ago since the last match in front of a full house. And Bosz has thought about the match at the sold-out Ibrox several times over recent days: "We knew before kick-off that it might be the last game in front of a crowd for a while. This year has gone by incredibly quickly, with lots of games – but also unfortunately without our fans. I hope it will soon be possible to play in front of them again."
Match information:
Broadcasters: DAZN and Werks11 Radio
Referee: The match officials will be announced on the day of the game
In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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The Werkself are finally back. On Saturday 8 August, Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign with their opening match. But there’s far more than just a double-header in store for Werkself supporters. True to the motto ‘One day. Two teams. One club’, the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium will be transformed into a world of excitement.
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The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...
After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
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Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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