The Werkself head coach experienced on the opening day of the league campaign how the newly promoted club surprised Bayer 04 with a passionate performance at the BayArena. The encounter on matchday one saw Bayer 04 win 3-2 – at the same time Paderborn did not make it easy for the Werkself as Bosz recalls: "We did win but the game was very open. It was an attractive match for the fans but I'd have liked more control as the coach." His team has developed since the meeting in the middle of August but it definitely won't be any easier.
On top of that, there is a run of five games without a win. "We can't afford to let it get to us. We are making mistakes and we have to learn from them but we're also doing a lot of things right. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to create as many chances. You can never get everything right in football but we can do more things better. We need to be more decisive, particularly in the final third," declared the 55-year-old ahead of the first meeting with Paderborn in the domestic cup competition and he once again stressed what it would come down to: "We have to have control – that's very important when you're playing an attacking game. Otherwise it will be an end-to-end encounter."
The Werkself have reached the Round of 16 in six of the last seven DFB Cup campaigns and will be expecting to go through this time too: "We have to win tomorrow's game. The DFB Cup is very important to the club, to me and to us all," emphasised the head coach but he also sounded a warning about Paderborn who had a boost at the weekend. After beating SV Rödinghausen in the first round of the DFB Cup, SCP clocked up their second win of the season. "We won't underestimate Paderborn. They are a good and dangerous team who've shown the right mentality in recent games and they always look to get forward. They'll try that again tomorrow," said Bosz with confidence.
Bosz was waiting until after the final pre-match training session before choosing his team – that will also depend on the availability of Kai Havertz, who is recovering from illness and Sven Bender, who suffered another problem with his ankle that saw him substituted against Werder on Saturday. With Wendell, "that's not the case," said the Dutchman who will also have to manage without Charles Aránguiz, Daley Sinkgraven and Leon Bailey.
Match information:
Tickets: Tickets are still available for the game – ticket offices are open two hours before kick-off-off. Print@home tickets are also available.
Referee: Sven Jablonski (Bremen)
Live TV broadcaster: Sky
Matchday hashtag: #B04SCP

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.
Show more
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.
Show more
The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
Show more
A great honour for Bayer 04 Women's German international: as part of the 2025 Sports Awards, Carlotta Wamser entered her name into the City of Leverkusen's Golden Book. On Tuesday, she looked back on a special year in a talk in the Morsbroich Castle hall of mirrors.
Show more
Werkself TV shows highlights of the 0-2 loss for Bayer 04 at Olmypiacos on matchday 7 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league phase...
Show more