Just two days separate tomorrow's game and the 2-1 win against VfB Stuttgart in the DFB Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday. Dortmund played on Tuesday when they went out of the competition after a 3-2 defeat against Werder Bremen. "They’ve had a day more for recovery and training," Peter Bosz said at the pre-match press conference.
The situation with availability in defensive midfield remains unclear: Julian Baumgartlinger, who was ruled out through injury on Wednesday, was not back in full training yesterday. "If he doesn't train today then he won't be in the squad," said Bosz who is also without Kerem Demirbay due to a one-match ban. Charles Aránguiz returned to the training ground this week for individual sessions but is not available for the clash with Borussia Dortmund.
That leaves just one of the four nominal holding midfielders: Exequiel Palacios. The winter signing made his debut for the Black and Reds against Stuttgart after serving a ban relating to his time in Argentina. Bosz: "While he's only played one game, I have seen him in training for a couple of weeks. He's a good player and I hope he can show that in the Bundesliga."
For the position next to Palacios, there are "several options," said Bosz. "Nothing is ruled out. I'll see which players I have available and then consider how we have the best chance of winning with them. That will decide how we play."
A look at the table shows the importance of the game against Dortmund: A win would reduce the gap to BVB to just two points but defeat would extend it to eight. Accordingly, the Bayer 04 head coach Bosz emphasised: "If we want to stay in touch with the top then we have to get a positive result." In addition to the former Leverkusen player Julian Brandt, who Bosz says has made "very good" progress, the focus at the moment is primarily on Dortmund's new signing Erling Haaland. The 19-year-old Norwegian has scored eight goals in his first four games. In response to the question of how to stop Haaland, Bosz answered: "I had the same question about Bayern Munich and Robert Lewandowski. We can only stop players like that as a team – we did that in the first half of the season in Munich. And that's what we want to do again this time."
Match information:
Referee: Markus Schmidt (Stuttgart)
Broadcaster: Sky (TV) and Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
Attendance: 30,210 (sold-out)
Happy birthday, Patrik Schick! On his special day, it's not just the Czech striker who can look forward to lots of presents and hopefully many more goals – Bayer 04 fans can also get their hands on a free number 14 print when they buy a Werkself jersey today, January 24! In addition, a match-worn jersey belonging to the now 30-year-old will be raffled off among all purchasers next week.
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A great start to the new eSports year as the Leverkusen professional gamers pick up nine points in the first three of six matches in the online preliminary round of the fourth showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. Between big wins, wonder goals and composed performances, there was plenty on offer against VfB Stuttgart, Hannover 96 and FC Augsburg.
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In keeping with the current freezing temperatures, Bayer 04 has heavily discounted numerous winter items – from cozy hats and sporty matchday clothing to stylish fleece and winter jackets.
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The fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 starts for the Leverkusen eSports team today, Thursday 22 January (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel and on the Bayer 04 app from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Reds will once again compete with six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round in Berlin on 2 February at the fourth showdown. The lowdown on our next three opponents in the online preliminary round.
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