Ahead of his move to Leverkusen for the 2019/20 season, Moussa Diaby, who was voted Player of the Season by Bayer 04 Club members, played for Paris Saint-Germain for one season – and he was twice in the line-up against Nice (0-3, 1-1). “They have a very good style of play as far as possession football is concerned, like to attack and want to get the ball forward as quickly as possible,” said the 21-year-old at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “I’m confident we can produce a good performance. We want to start with a win.”
While head coach Peter Bosz can call on his winger against the team that finished fifth in Ligue 1 last term, there is a question mark over two players. Captain Charles Aránguiz was substituted due to a knock after 45 minutes in the 1-0 win at Mainz. “We’ll only include him if he’s 100% fit. But that probably won’t be the case,” said Bosz who went on to say about youngster Florian Wirtz (stomach muscle problem): “We’ll wait and see what happens at today’s training session and see how his body is reacted to yesterday’s session.”
One player from the forthcoming opponents from the Côte d’Azur is well-known to the 56-year-old. In 2016/17, Bosz coached the top Dutch team Ajax with Kasper Dolberg in the squad. The central striker is now playing for Nice but the 23-year-old is a doubt due to injury.
With or without Dolberg – “Nice are a very strong team, a good opponent,” declared Bosz. “But we have have our own qualities. Above all, we have done very well in defence up to now and only conceded a few shots on goal. We want to make a successful start to the competition tomorrow.”
Match information:
Broadcasters: DAZN and Werks11 Radio (bayer04.de)
Referee: Fran Jovic (Croatia)
Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
Show more
Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
Show more
After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
Show more
SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
