The wins in the big matches against Bayern Munich and Schalke 04 were followed by a 2-0 defeat against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday 11 December. The Bayer 04 head coach Peter Bosz does not see that match as a setback. "We played very well and were compact. That must give us confidence for the rest of the games before the winter break – including against FC Köln," said the Dutchman at the pre-match press conference ahead of the derby.
The 56-year-old is well aware this clash is very special for the Werkself fans. Bosz continued ahead of his first Rhine derby against FC Köln: "Of course, I get it that this match is about much more than just three points – you can feel it. Everybody will be talking about it at work in the next few days."
Against Köln, currently bottom the table on eight points, it will be necessary to show a certain aggression on and off the ball. "And we have a team that can play very good football. That's the way we want to achieve victory," said Bosz who said he is able to call on a fit squad immediately before the winter break: "The players remain very focused. We have an experienced group used to playing twice or three times a week."
In the game on the other side of the Rhine, with over 4,000 fans travelling to support the Werkself, the head coach of the sixth-placed team has all players available with the exception of the suspended Jonathan Tah and injured players Mitchell Weiser and Joel Pohjanpalo. Bosz added: "We know we still have three very important games and I feel that we're ready!"
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time in almost eight years. Although the Hanseatic city team are often below par on the road, they are regularly in top form in front of their own fans. In particular, 18-year-old shooting star Luka Vuskovic is proving to be a real bonus for Merlin Polzin's team, both in attack and defence. However, that should not scare the Werkself: Not only was the last defeat against the newly promoted team 17 games ago, but Kasper Hjulmand's players are in with a chance of securing their fifth win in six games against HSV. Today’s matchday news.
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Hamburger SV and Bayer 04 meet again in the Bundesliga for the first time in almost eight years. This Tuesday evening, 13 January (kick-off: 20:30 CET), the promoted team with impressive home form welcome the Werkself to the Volksparkstadion to round off the Hinrunde. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The Werkself are away to Hamburg SV at the end of the Hinrunde in the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. The match at the newly promoted club is on Tuesday night, 13 January (kick-off: 20:30 CET). Ahead of the first encounter with HSV since 2018, Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the strengths of the opponents, lessons learnt from the home defeat against VfB Stuttgart and provided a squad update.
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