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

A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
Show more
A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
Show more
With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
Show more
Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
So here we go again: Four weeks after the 2-0 home win in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League, Olympiacos host the Werkself at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis this Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET - live on Werkself Radio) for the second encounter in a short space of time. It's the first leg of the knockout play-offs, and it's likely to be another high-intensity clash in a fiery atmosphere.
Show more