After the spectacular 6-2 victory over Nice in last Thursday night’s Europa League match, the Bayer 04 players face a completely different opponent in the Bundesliga in the shape of FC Augsburg. While Nice are a possession-based side, “that builds their game from the back and takes risks, I expect Augsburg to be more compact at the back. They look to play quick counter-attacking football and prefer to play long balls,” said Bosz at the pre-match press conference ahead of Monday night’s game. “Against Augsburg, we’ll do nothing different and primarily focus on our own game. In terms of the way we play, we did nothing different against Nice than we did in the four Bundesliga games before that,” added the head coach.
After the first Monday match of the season for the Werkself, Bayer 04 could be at the top end of the table – depending on the outcome of the match between Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim on Sunday afternoon that could even mean fourth place. “Of course, we’ll try to win the game tomorrow – and in my opinion we have to do that! As we would obviously prefer to be in fourth position. However, in the end what really matters is where we are on matchday 34 and that won’t be decided tomorrow.”
The statistical omens for an outcome in favour of the Werkself are good ahead of the game: Bayer 04 have not lost any of the 18 clashes to date with Augsburg (12 wins, 6 draws) and the Blacks and Reds have even won the last four encounters without conceding a single goal.
Against Augsburg, Peter Bosz will again have to manage without the skipper Charles Aránguiz, Santiago Arias, Paulinho and Patrik Schick. The latter has returned to individual training with the ball this week. “Patrik is on the right track but it will be a while before he’ll be able to make his comeback,” revealed Bosz.
The coach has said he is “very happy” with Schick’s fellow striker Lucas Alario: “It’s not easy for him in the role he’s had here for a long time. He has played regularly but has not been not a first choice. But over recent weeks he’s shown: He’s there when he’s needed. He does that brilliantly – hats off to him.”
While Alario is hoping for his third start in succession, Bosz has said he will rotate: “If you only have two days off between games then you have to rotate. Some players can cope better with the double fixture weeks and others find it more difficult. I regularly talk to my assistant and fitness coaches. And we try to plan around that.”
Match information:
Broadcasters: DAZN and Werks11 Radio
Referee: The referee will be announced on the day of the match
Attendance: The match will be played behind closed doors due to the high infection rate in and around Leverkusen
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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