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)
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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