After last Thursday’s first-leg draw in Baku, Qarabag were back in domestic action at the weekend. Given the fact that the defending champions of Azerbaijan were 23 points clear at the top with 11 games to go, Gurbanov was able to fully rotate his team to take on fourth-placed Zira on Sunday.
It meant that nobody who’d started the Leverkusen game three days earlier was named in the side that began the league encounter. Elvin Jafarguliyev and Julio Romao, who had been suspended in Europe, did start, though. They are both available again for the trip to the BayArena. Patrick and Leandro Andrade were introduced in the second half. Otherwise, Qarabag were able to rest their entire defence and attackers before travelling to Germany.
Gurbanov had already started the fighting talk after the first leg: “Lots of people said before the game that Leverkusen are good, the gap between the two teams is big, and that defeat wouldn’t be a disgrace. But I believed that we would play well. I’ll prepare the team to play even better in Germany. Our opponents won’t be able to relax.”
His key players were certainly able to relax in the league at the weekend. Juninho, who scored the second goal against the Werkself but also went off injured late on, wasn’t in the squad for the 3-1 win over Zira. The Brazilian remains a doubt for Thursday’s return leg. “Things look better than first feared,” said Gurbanov. “We hope he can at least be on the bench.”
Qarabag also have more options in defence now after Colombian Kevin Medina returned to action against Zira after a long spell out injured. The Azerbaijani champions come to the BayArena well rested, with a fit squad – apart from the uncertain Juninho – and certainly full of confidence after their efforts in the first leg. They will prove a tough nut to crack for Bayer 04 to reach the quarter-finals.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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