Florian Wirtz has recently been sidelined with muscular problems. "His pain has completely disappeared. He just needs to build up a bit of strength around his lower back but at least he completed the full pre-match training session today," explained Seoane who believes the youngster may play some part in the game.
And with Jeremie Frimpong, who complained of slight groin problems during the week, there is also hope that he may feature. "Jeremie was able to join individual parts of training over the past two days. I'll speak to the physios and consider whether he might make an appearance."
The head coach named the two latest new signings as an option for the matchday squad. "We’re happy we were able to sign Robert Andrich and Piero Hincapie this week. Both players bring more solidity and physical power to our squad. It's possible both of them might be in the squad on Saturday," declared Seoane. While Andrich has trained with the squad since the start of the week, Hincapie only joined full training on Friday after a period of quarantine on entry to Germany.
In addition to personnel changes, there is also a development with the Werkself and Seoane believes there will be a difference on the pitch on Saturday in comparison to last week's game at Union Berlin. The 42-year-old is expecting in Borussia Mönchengladbach "a different opponent. Gladbach will be more physical and press higher up the pitch. They will put us under more pressure. I expect much more resistance than in Berlin." He has prepared his team to be ready to stand up to the pressure, "but also find solutions with more penetration particularly in the final third."
The BayArena will be sold out on Saturday evening with the maximum permitted crowd of 15,105. HERE is information for the fans on access to the stadium. The Schwadbud is to remain closed for home games for the time being – as an alternative there is the open-air beer garden 'Liga 20' opposite the BayArena.

The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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Bayer 04’s eight opponents in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League have now been confirmed. During the draw on Friday 28 August at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the Werkself were drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots. As usual, there will be a total of four home and four away matches. The group stage begins on 16/17 September.
Show moreThe Bundesliga is back. On Saturday 29 August (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to SV 07 Elversberg on matchday 1 of the new season. Ahead of the clash at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the importance of a successful start and the motivation of the league newcomers from the Saarland.
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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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