One player is missing for tomorrow’s trip to Bremen: Lars Bender. The team captain suffered an injury to his foot and is sidelined for the Werder game. Kevin Volland is also unavailable as he continues his recovery in rehab from an ankle ligament injury. “Otherwise, we’ll have all the lads with us who are normally in the squad. We’ll also have some youth players with us, including Florian Wirtz,” said Bosz, who expressed his satisfaction with the youth player: “He has to be a good player – otherwise he wouldn’t train with us regularly as a 17-year-old.”
A day before the restart in Bremen, the Dutchman highlighted the “very good” discipline of his team. “I’ve been working with them for three months during the coronavirus pandemic and I have to say they know what’s expected of them. In addition, our team doctor Dr. Karl-Heinrich Dittmar was very good in explaining to them what they can and cannot do,” said Bosz, who has logically dedicated attention this week to the thought of “how we can win the game against Werder.”
In preparation for the game, the Werkself played a practice match at the BayArena simulating the new coronavirus conditions. “We have to be able to handle it. The emotions will be different and also the situation of being able to hear more. We’ve tried to reproduce that at our own ground with eleven-a-side training,” said Bosz.
The circumstances around the hygiene regulations applicable before and after matchdays plus the absence of fans are both new experiences for the Dutch coach. The 56-year-old paid close attention to yesterday’s first Bundesliga fixtures in 66 days – above all, on the rivals in the race for a Champions League slot. “Of course, we’re looking at our direct rivals. But I don’t think we’re under more pressure because of that. We have to mind our own business and win our games,” said Bosz. After the two-month break, the desire is still there for the “attractive and dominant” Bayer 04 style of play.
For the first time, matchday 26 also brings the rule change of five substitutions instead of three per team per match that applies to the end of the season. Bosz: “That gives us coaches extra chances of having more influence on the game.”
Match information:
Broadcasters: DAZN and Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
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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