Ahead of the run-in and the important game against the Royal Blues, who are just three points ahead, Peter Bosz has used the past few quiet days, to enable "several players to wind down so that they are fit and fresh for the next games. We've worked well."
A new pitch has been laid at the BayArena in the last week – that means the Werkself play Schalke on a completely new surface. "We are a team who like to have possession and get forward quickly with few touches of the ball so it’s incredibly important that we have a good pitch. We trained on the new pitch yesterday and first impressions were good," said the head coach.
Another good precondition for the home game is last Saturday’s sensational victory in Munich that still resonates: "The team showed they can only play possession football but also work well against the ball, be quick in transition and very dangerous with the pace shown getting forward," said Bosz. He has been particularly impressed by the battling quality of his team. "We were lucky too – without doubt – but we showed character and mentality. And we also need to show that against Schalke 04. We know it won't be an easy game. But we want to win – particularly at home!"
Schalke 04, of all the current Bundesliga teams, have only collected fewer points against FC Bayern (0.8) than they have against the Werkself (1.1) and are currently third in the table – "if you're at the top after 13 games then you must have done a lot of things right," said the Dutchman who rightly pointed out that Bayer 04 would draw level on points at the weekend with a win. The route to the target is: Play quick passes, manage with a few touches the ball and have good positional play. As "Schalke are a team that plays with aggression and tries to constantly press the ball. We won't have long on the ball."
Bosz has all the players at his disposal who were available for the game against FC Bayern with the exception of the suspended Jonathan Tah. Only Mitchell Weiser and Joel Pohjanpalo are still ruled out through injury.
Match info:
Referee: Harm Osmers
TV broadcaster: Sky
Tickets: Bayer 04 are expecting a capacity crowd at the BayArena
The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
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Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
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