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.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 put in a brilliant performance to beat RB Leipzig 4-1 on Bundesliga matchday 32 and are now fourth in a Champions League spot. The Black and Reds took control of the game right from the start and, with 75 per cent possession at one stage, took a 2-0 lead into the break through Patrik Schick (25’) and Nathan Tella (45+1’). The visitors initially tried to do more after the break, but the Werkself remained determined and Schick scored his second goal to increase the lead to 3-0 (76'). The Red Bulls pulled a goal back through Christoph Baumgartner (80'), but the disciplined Leverkusen side were not rattled - and certainly not Schick: The Czechia international crowned a brilliant display with his third goal shortly before the final whistle to make the final score 4-1.
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In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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