The 29-year-old played for FC Basel for two years. During his time in Switzerland, Aleksandar Dragovic played five games in Bern with FCB. He was never on the losing side with four wins and one draw under his belt. “It can be a bit strange for the away team in the opening minutes. The ball moves very fast,” warned the experienced defender at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday evening. “But we can get used to the pitch tonight in the final training session. These new conditions could be an advantage with our style of play.”
Bayer 04 head coach Peter Bosz is also very familiar with artificial pitches. The 57-year-old coached the Dutch first division team Heracles Almelo from 2004 to 2006 and they also had an artificial pitch. “It won’t be a problem for us tomorrow,” Bosz added. He did suggest one or two players might not be in the starting eleven due to the possibility of injuries caused by the playing surface.”
One of those is the first choice keeper Lukas Hradecky. The Werkself number one recently suffered a problem with his heel and he had to to be substituted at half-time in the Bundesliga home game against FSV Mainz 05 (2-2). The Finn will again be replaced by Niklas Lomb as in the second half against Mainz. Bosz left the question unanswered of whether Hradecky will be available for Sunday’s game at FC Augsburg.
The Dutchman preferred to focus on the next opponents in the Europa League – and they are a force to be reckoned with. Young Boys won the Swiss league for past three years and last year lifted the domestic cup. And in the current campaign the team under head coach Gerardo Seoane are forging ahead in Switzerland. After 20 league games, the lead over second-placed Basel is already 16 points. “I’m particularly impressed by the consistency of the team,” Bosz declared.
Central defender Dragovic added in relation to the strengths of YB: “They have played a very physical game since Adi Hütter was in charge (2015 to 2018, ed.). In addition, they are incredibly quick in attack. They have some real live wires. But they always take risks. And we have to be ready for that.”
Match information:
Broadcasters: DAZN and Werks11 Radio
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
The second European away game takes the Werkself to the Portuguese capital Lisbon. Kasper Hjulmand's team will face record champions Benfica on Wednesday, 5 November (kick-off: 20:00 GMT, 21:00 CET) on matchday 4 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League. As usual, we will take you along on the #aCROSSeurope journey and report from Lisbon. The times given are Central European Time.
Show more
The Werkself beat Benfica 1-0 on Matchday 4 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase to seal three crucial points! Both teams had promising chances in the first half, but the contest was goalless at half-time. Substitute Patrik Schick headed in to score the only goal after the restart (65’). The home side went looking for an equaliser but Bayer 04 defended passionately to see out the storm.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 win against Hamburger SV on the 9th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
Show more
The Werkself consolidated their position among the top teams in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga thanks to a last-minute goal on Wednesday evening. Roberto Pätzold’s team beat Hamburger SV 2-1 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Kristin Kögel (14’) and Caroline Kehrer (90’+5) scored for Bayer 04. The result takes Bayer 04 Women onto 19 points, third in the table behind top two Bayern Munich (25) and VfL Wolfsburg (22).
Show more
One Bayer 04 player in particular is looking forward to the Werkself’s Champions League match away at Benfica on Wednesday 5 November (kick-off at 21:00 CET). Alejandro Grimaldo returns to his old stomping ground for the first time since he joined Bayer 04 two years ago. He encounters a Portuguese side that are unbeaten in the domestic league but under pressure in the UEFA Champions League having not taken any points, even under new coach José Mourinho. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in Lisbon.
Show more
