Wins against Mainz, Nice and Augsburg – the season has taken off for Bayer 04 after three league draws the start of the campaign. Going into the game on the back of those results, the Werkself are looking to overcome the second Europa League hurdle on Thursday night, 29 October (kick-off: 21.00 CET/live on DAZN, RTL Nitro and Werks11 Radio at bayer04.de). The fourth match in twelve days awaits in Prague. “Our clear aim is to be in Europe every season – and everybody is aware that involves double-fixture weeks,” said Julian Baumgartlinger at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday evening. “We all want to play as much as possible.”
The Werkself players Santiago Arias (broken leg), Paulinho (rehab after torn cruciate, Mitchell Weiser (not registered) did not travel to the Czech Republic nor did Charles Aránguiz and Patrik Schick. The latter is back in full training, “but not ready for the squad,” said Bosz. Lars Bender is also sidelined after suffering problems with his neck following a challenge in the Augsburg match and also absent is Exequiel Palacios. The Argentinian is ill but he had a negative test for coronavirus on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Not just because of the players missing– Lars Bender and Palacios started against Augsburg – there will be a different line-up for Leverkusen on Thursday night. “We currently only have two days break between games,” Bosz reported. “We’ve got to rotate. We’ll do that tomorrow – and more than in just one position.”
The top Czech team come from an almost four-week break in fixtures – with the exception of the 3-1 defeat in the Europa League match at Hapoel Be’er Sheva last week. The team from the Czech capital demonstrated their quality in the Champions League last term. “Slavia work together as a unit, are very compact and will definitely ask questions,” said the Austria international who is looking to continue the positive trend with the Werkself: “It’s just great fun to celebrate goals together. We want to have that feeling against (Slavia) Prague.”
Match information:
Broadcasters: DAZN, RTL Nitro and Werks11 Radio
Referee: William Collum (Scotland)
Just in time for the start of the school year, everyone was hard at work again at NaturGut Ophoven. For the 21st time, Bayer 04 have supported the annual ‘BioBrotbox’ campaign, which puts together a healthy breakfast for first-year primary school pupils in Leverkusen – and not only contributed 1,904 muesli bars but also plenty of enthusiasm too: Together with the U19 players Burak Kir and Clinton Wilson, Emily Wallrabenstein and Paulina Platner from the Women’s Bundesliga team helped with the packing. The latter was clearly delighted “that Bayer 04 are helping out with regional projects like this and showing their commitment to the local community”.
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The men's clothing retailer LERROS will remain the official fashion and premium partner of Bayer 04 for the current season. As in the past, LERROS will provide the club's men's team, coaching staff and management with high-quality clothing for international trips.
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“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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