In addition to long-term injury Kevin Volland (ankle), Nadiem Amiri is also sidelined after suffering a shoulder injury in Wednesday’s 3-1 win against Union Berlin in the DFB Cup quarter-finals. Lars Bender is also unavailable as Bosz explained, “he's on his way back and has trained again,” but the clash with Frankfurt “is out of the question.” Mitchell Weiser will start at right-back in place of the skipper.
The Black and Reds have an impressive record at the BayArena in 2020: six wins in six games. And now Eintracht come to Leverkusen. Bosz on the winning home form: “During the winter break, we looked at areas where we can improve. We identified stability and home games – both have worked. That was important.“
Nevertheless, according to Bosz, the Werkself face an opponent tomorrow who “can motivate themselves for individual games and produce great performances; we’ve seen that, above all, in the cup competitions. They are very straight-up and direct.”
In recent games, substitutes have often proved to be match winners. “We often come out on top late on,” said the Dutch coach before adding: “I always say to my players, we win games with 20 rather than eleven players.”
Bosz finished off by looking forward to a sell-out crowd at the BayArena. The 56-year-old: “Footballers are nothing without the fans. It absolutely helps when the stadium is sold-out and the fans are right behind the team. It can give you that extra something that makes the difference.”
Match information:
Attendance: Bayer 04 announce a sold-out BayArena
Broadcaster: Sky (TV) and Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
Referee: Dr. Felix Brych (Munich)
A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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