The Black and Reds followed up the 3-1 win in Glasgow with a 1-0 win against Rangers on Thursday in the second leg of the Round of 16 to go through to the last eight. Inter Milan beat Getafe 2-0 in their Round of 16 match. The first leg – in contrast to the Werkself and Rangers tie – fell victim to the coronavirus pandemic at the start of March.
The 'Nerazzurri' were still playing in Serie A a few days before the clash with Getafe after several double-fixture weeks in succession. The team coached by Antonio Conte ended the league season in second place behind Juventus by just one point. "I don't fear any opponent," declared Werkself coach Bosz on Sunday. "But we do have respect. We know that Inter are a good team. But we can beat a team like that. We have to play very well ourselves and we can't afford to make many mistakes."
Bosz also sees a number of plus points in his own team for the meeting with the Italian runners-up. "We also have a team that has recently gained a lot of experience; so I'm confident it will be a good game," said the Dutchman. Key defender Sven Bender added in respect of the Inter attack around star striker Romelu Lukaku, who has just scored his 30th goal of the season: "We support each other in defence. Of course, individual players have to defend and I’m prepared for the way they play but it will only work as a team and that's what we're focusing on."
Midfielder Charles Aránguiz misses the game against Inter after picking up a yellow card in the Round of 16 second leg. Bosz on the absence of the Chilean: "We've shown in the past that we can replace good players." One option is Nadiem Amiri. The Germany international has been in self-isolation the past few days due to contact with a positive case of coronavirus but he has now returned to the squad ahead of the clash with Inter. A possible appearance for Karim Bellarabi, who has recently been sidelined with muscular problems, will be decided after the final pre-match training session on Sunday at the Düsseldorf Arena, the official UEFA description of the stadium for the Europa League finals tournament. If the Werkself go through to the next round then they will play their semi-final in the state capital on 17 August.
Match information:
Broadcasters: RTL (TV), DAZN (live stream), Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
Referee: The match officials will be announced on the day of the game
The second friendly and the first goal for the Bayer 04 Women: The Werkself just missed out on their first win in the preseason away to top-flight Dutch side PEC Zwolle. The team led by coach Roberto Pätzold drew 1-1 on Friday afternoon in Wezep. As with the friendly against TSG Hoffenheim (0-2) a number of first-team players were absent. The coach once again shared out time on the pitch for the 20-player squad. The goal of the match was scored by summer signing Vanessa Fudalla (67').
Show moreContinuity under the Cross: After the successful season in 2024/25 with reaching the final of the VBL Club Championship, the two Leverkusen e-sports players Marc and Sean Landwehr have extended their contracts at Bayer 04 by an additional two years. Marc is thereby in his sixth year and Sean in his third year with the Werkself. Together with e-talent Marcus Hüttemann, who has also extended his stay at Bayer 04 Bayer year, completes the current squad for the 2025/26 season.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen have signed centre forward Christian Kofane. The 18-year-old Cameroonian joins Leverkusen from Spanish second tier club Albacete on a contract to 30 June 2029.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen will wear the new away kit for the 2025/26 season at the start of the training camp in Brazil. In conscious contrast to the international aspect of this year's training camp in Rio de Janeiro, kit supplier New Balance has designed a jersey for the Werkself players and all other Bayer 04 teams with distinct links to home.
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