The Werkself number four suffered painful bruising to his lower leg in the DFB Cup tie at Aachen and was only able to train on his own on Monday. However, he is expected to be available for the first home game of the season on Saturday.
Lars Bender is also confident about playing against the newly promoted team at the weekend. The captain has recovered from a pulled muscle and he took a full part in training on Monday before confirming: "Everything's good. I'm on course."
In addition to Lars Bender, Tin Jedvaj returned to join his team-mates. The Croat World Cup runner-up has recently been sidelined due to back problems. The same applies to Lukas Hradecky. The keeper was suffering from gastroenteritis at the end of last week but on Monday he was diving around at the training ground again. Mitchell Weiser is not quite so close to returning. At the moment, he's working one-to-one with rehab coach Daniel Jouvin but he should return to full training in the near future.
Around 4,000 Werkself fans followed the team to Aachen last Saturday and they provided vocal support. "It was really great," said Jonathan Tah about the black and red support at the Tivoli. "We've got ambitious targets in the cup as well. And, of course, that sort of backing helps."
Was it 26 seconds? Or was it 21 seconds that Leon Bailey needed to score the third goal against Alemannia Aachen after coming off the bench? It was "definitely the quickest goal of my career," said the Jamaican who came on with clear instructions from head coach Peter Bosz: "I was supposed to make my runs. The opposition moved further and further up so that left space behind the back four." Bailey did as he was told and was immediately rewarded with a goal one day after his 22nd birthday. "Of course, that was perfect."
Last Thursday, 8 August, Peter Hermann watched the Werkself train together with team manager Hans-Peter Lehnhoff and on Monday the DFB announced the role the Bayer 04 legend has accepted. Hermann, who was at Leverkusen for nearly 30 years as a player and coach, will assist head coach Christian Wörns in running the Germany U18 team. "Peter Hermann is an institution in German football and we have been able to bring him in for our youth teams and also for youth development across Germany," said Joti Chatzialexiou, the sporting director of the national teams. Hermann and Wörns got to know each other at Leverkusen. Hermann was assistant coach to Reinhard Saftig when the former Germany international signed for the Werkself in 1991.
Sandwiched between their UEFA Champions League knockout play-off tie against Olympiacos, Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action on Saturday with a trip to Union Berlin (kick-off: 15:30 CET). It’s a fixture of contrasting styles, with Leverkusen preferring to control the play while Union look to remain compact and counter. The Berliners are therefore suited to facing top teams, but they have only ever managed to win one of 16 meetings with the Werkself, who are looking for a fifth clean sheet of 2026 but will need to beware the home side’s threat from set pieces. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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After six wins in seven games, the Werkself will be looking to continue their winning run in the capital at FC Union Berlin. Coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke ahead of the match on Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET) about defenders, the short preparation time and the condition of the pitch at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
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Union Berlin have performed particularly well against the top clubs in the Bundesliga this season with a draw at home to Bayern Munich and wins against VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig. This Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET), the Irons now welcome the Werkself, currently sixth in the table, to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. And the hosts are in desperate need of a win. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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It took exactly 60 minutes for the Werkself to take the lead through a perfectly finished counter-attack by Patrik Schick in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off at Olympiacos. Referring to the meeting in the league phase and the initially squandered opportunities, coach Kasper Hjulmand said afterwards: "I thought: 'Oh no, déjà-vu.'" But after the opening goal, it took just 144 seconds for the Czech to spark more wild celebrations among those in black and red in the Greek cauldron, when Schick nodded in Alejandro Grimaldo's corner. Much to the delight of the Bayer 04 fans, his teammates and his coach, who had warm words for the striker in the aftermath. The Werkself Review.
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