Ahead of the clash with the league leaders, Bosz is focusing– as with any other game – primarily on his own team. “In the run-up to a match, we are 95 per cent concerned with ourselves,” the head coach said at the pre-match press conference. “We have to be brave and play our game.” The Dutchman is happy to dedicate the remaining five per cent to the team from Munich ahead of the match.
The reason: “I enjoy the way Bayern play. It’s a game for anyone who loves football. That’s how football should be played,” said Bosz, who praised the FC Bayern attack and their defence as well as the way they press.”
A win in tomorrow’s home game, as previously mentioned, would be the third victory in succession against the record champions. “If it does happen, then we’ll have achieved something special,” said Bosz before adding: “For me, it’s all about qualifying for the Champions League at the end of the season. And points against FC Bayern are always valuable for that target.”
The possibility of a win making the Bundesliga title race exiting again is of no real interest to Bosz. “It’s not about Bayern Munich for me but rather Bayer 04. We’re playing for ourselves and we want to take the points,” said the Dutchman.
As in last week’s game at Freiburg, striker Kevin Volland will again be in the squad for the home game against FC Bayern. “That means he can play,” Bosz explained. “But we have to be realistic: He’s been out for a long time. Therefore, he’s not yet in shape to play for the full 90 minutes.” Lars Bender will not be in the squad. The captain is still struggling with a foot injury and has yet to return to full training. “We don’t know how long Lars will be out for. But he’s heading in the right direction,” said Bosz.
Match info:
Broadcaster: Sky and Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
Referee: The referee will announced on the day of the game
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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