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)
The fixture details for the Bayer 04 Women’s first match in the 2026/27 DFB Pokal has been confirmed: As announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday morning, the Leverkusen Women will face second-tier side FC Viktoria Berlin in the first round on Sunday 27 September at 14:00 CEST.
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Once again, well over 100 Werkself fans were delighted to receive an invitation from the club’s record appearance-maker, Rüdiger Vollborn, to the sold-out Schwadbud at the BayArena. This time, the supporters listened as the club historian provided fascinating, exclusive insights into the period from Bayer 04 being founded in 1904 to the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979. A journey through time is also planned for the upcoming ‘Rudi lädt ein’ event in early November – this time focusing on the years of the Nazi regime.
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Getting in the mood for the new season together, exchanging ideas and looking ahead to the coming months: Bayer 04 welcomed partners to the BayArena for the annual sponsors season-launch event. In a relaxed atmosphere, the management, head coach and players came together with representatives from partner companies to celebrate the start of the 2026/27 season.
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Happy children’s faces at the SSV Lützenkirchen training ground: For the 25th time, the Birkenberg soccer school – organised by SportBund Leverkusen – offered participating youngsters an exciting holiday activity. Meeting a Bayer 04 player has now become a cherished tradition. This time, Ibrahim Maza visited the 150 children and spoke to them about his World Cup experiences, amongst other things. “It’s always lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm for football,” said the 20-year-old, after bringing a sparkle to many eyes with selfies and autographs.
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