
Although several players were away on international duty, Heiko Herrlich was able to use the international window to work intensively with the rest of his players: "We had seven of the players who started against FC Schalke in training. So we've worked on sharpening up a few things in the past two weeks – both in defensive and offensive areas."
Confirm positive trend
In assessing the season so far, the coach keeps emphasising the difference between performance and results. The trend is now going in the right direction: "We've played seven games. Although performances in the first three matches were generally very good we only managed to pick up one point. If you look at the last four games you can see we've picked up four points. We need to confirm that development and look to extend it."
'We want to play our game'
In response to a question about Wolfsburg, who have only secured three points since the change of coaches, Herrlich declared: "They have more possession and are more efficient in finishing. Martin Schmidt proved at Mainz that he can successfully lead a team. I'm sure he'll get Wolfsburg back on track as well. But we want to play our game against VfL on Sunday and win."
Jedvaj still in rehab, Aránguiz not match fit
In the quest for a third win at home this season, the coach has a full squad to choose from with the exception of Tin Jedvaj (still in rehab after a hairline shin fracture) and Charles Aránguiz. On Aránguiz, who suffered a calf injury in the away match at FC Schalke 04 but then played in the international against Brazil, the coach responded as follows: "Charly is back. He was checked out by our doctors this morning to see how the injury has developed. Of course, you can still see the bruising from two weeks ago but nothing has been made any worse by playing for Chile." However, he has not fully recovered from the injury and is ruled out at this weekend's game on the advice of the Bayer 04 medical section.
28,000 expected at the BayArena
Eight 28,000 crowd is expected for the fifth Family Day at the BayArena for the match against VfL Wolfsburg. For anybody who does not want to miss the special highlights for Bayer 04 fans young and old: Come and get your tickets on matchday.

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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