The fact that Hoffenheim are still unbeaten this season and currently lie three points ahead of Bayer 04, "says a lot about their quality," as Roger Schmidt added: "TSG are clearly doing a lot right. They often choose the tactic of playing five at the back with a lot of disciplined and defensively oriented players ensuring stability. They are quick at switching play and invest a lot of energy. In addition, they have found a target player in Sandro Wagner who perfectly suits their game."
For Roger Schmidt that is no reason at all to divert from his own plans. "We want to carry on against Hoffenheim where we left off in the Champions League against Tottenham Hotspur: The key element is improving on the discrepancy between effort and reward. On top of all the attractive football we want to score goals and, above all, win. To do that we need to be very focused in front of goal and discover the fun of scoring."
In terms of personnel available for Saturday, Schmidt spoke about a number of question marks. Hakan Calhanoglu, who went off at half-time against Tottenham due to a back problem, is "still feeling pain. It's looking negative for him. I don't want to make a final decision a moment but it's not looking good." Captain Lars Bender, was after the UCL match, according to Schmidt "shattered. The day off will have done him good. We'll see on Friday how he's feeling." The same applies to Stefan Kießling who "played over 90 minutes for the first time in a long while. We'll have to wait and see how he's recovered." Striker Chicharito is suffering with a cold and he too is a doubt.
Info for the fans
With the exception of the visitors section, Bayer 04 are expecting a sell-out at the BayArena for the match against Hoffenheim. Ticket offices will be open on the day of the game. For the fourth time on Saturday, Werkself fans will also be able to enjoy highly reduced ticket prices and a wide range of events: Bayer 04 invites supporters to the home match against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for a family day, again presented by health partner pronova BKK.
Video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the nominees for the Men's and Women's Team of the Year (TOTY) for EA Sports FC 26. With Patrik Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo for the men and Vanessa Fudalla for the women, there are three Bayer 04 players included. Fans of the Black-and-Reds can vote for each top XI of 2025 from now until 18:59 CET on Monday 12 January.
Show more
The Werkself host Mainz at the BayArena on matchday 24 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 28 February, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
Show more
The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
Show more
The Werkself are back! Following the two-week winter break, head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team began the new year with an open session on Sunday. After Robert Andrich and his teammates arrived in Leverkusen yesterday for the official check-in, they got back down to business a day later in front of around 1,200 fans at the Ulrich Haberland Stadion. The report from the Werkself's first session of 2026.
Show more
