Back
6.12.2016Champions League

'We definitely want to win at home!'

It's Champions League time again! For the last time in this calendar year, Europe's biggest club competition is taking place at the BayArena and head coach Roger Schmidt's team can look to a quality encounter with AS Monaco on Wednesday night (20.45 CET).
© Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fussball GmbH

"The fact we're already qualified for the Round of 16 just provides further motivation," said the 49 year-old boss ahead of the last group match.

Both teams are unbeaten in the current Champions League campaign and already certain of their final position. "That means we can concentrate on playing good football," said Schmidt. He does not believe any of his players will fail to give 100 per cent due to the relative insignificance of the result of the match. Central defender Aleksandar Dragovic confirmed that at the pre-match press conference: "We're looking forward to the game even more as we have an account to settle with our opponents."

Clear mission

Monaco's Kamil Glick scored with the last shot of the match against the Werkself to secure a fortunate 1-1 draw when the two teams met in the Principality. "It was a speculative effort on a Tuesday night," recalled Dragovic as he explained his additional motivation: "We definitely want to pick up three points at home – also with one eye on the last three Bundesliga matches of the year."

Schmidt has had good and bad news on the injury front over the past few days. While Kevin Kampl, Admir Mehmedi and Kevin Volland are sidelined, Ömer Toprak and Jonathan Tah return as do Vladlen Yurchenko, Joel Pohjanpalo and Stefan Kießling. All are options for an appearance on Wednesday night. That also applies to the number two keeper Ramazan Özcan. "I'm thinking about making one or two changes – including in goal," said Schmidt.

Tickets still available

All the above named fit players took part in the final pre-match training session at the BayArena. Tickets are still available for anybody who want to see the final Werkself match in the Champions League ahead of Monday's Round of 16 draw. Ticket offices will be open on the night of the game.

© Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fussball GmbH

Related News

Marc und Sean Landwehr
eSports - 26.02.2026

#B04eSports: Leverkusen through to third straight VBL CC final after play-off win

Job done: the Bayer 04 eSports team defeated SV Darmstadt 98 in the play-offs to secure their consecutive participation in the VBL Club Championship final. The journey continues now for Leverkusen on Saturday 7 March (from 17:00 CET) with a last-16 encounter at Hamburger SV.

Show more
Carlotta Wamser im Trikot der deutschen Nationalmannschaft
Women - 25.02.2026

World Cup qualifiers: Eight Bayer 04 women on international duty

The first international break in 2026 marks the start of the battle to qualify for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil for a German and Austrian duo, while a quintet will conclude the U23 international season. A total of eight Leverkusen players will be on international duty with their national teams in the coming days.

Show more
Werkself advances to Champions League round of 16 after 0-0 draw with Olympiacos | Play-offs UCL
Werkself-TV - 25.02.2026

TV highlights of the 0-0 draw against Olympiacos

Werkself TV shows highlights of the 0-0 draw against Olympiacos in the second leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...

Show more
Werkself feiert Achtelfinal-Einzug mit den Fans
Champions League - 25.02.2026

Werkself review #B04OLY: ‘Defended very well’ and now in top 16 in Europe

In addition to the joy of reaching the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, the Werkself were particularly pleased with their next clean sheet and their focussed defensive performance. Although there was self-criticism after the 0-0 draw against Olympiacos in the play-off second leg, Jonas Hofmann aptly summed the position after the game: "What counts in knockout matches is going through." And one young man in particular will not forget this game in a hurry. The Werkself review.

Show more
Andrich gegen Hezze
Champions League - 24.02.2026

0-0 draw with Olympiacos puts Werkself in Champions League Round of 16

A disciplined defensive performance in the second leg saw Bayer 04 prevail against Olympiacos in the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. Thanks to the 2-0 away win in the first leg, the goalless draw at home at the BayArena was enough to ensure progress to the next round. The Black and Reds kept their opponents away from their goal for the best part of 90 minutes.

Show more