Slavia Prague come to the BayArena for the final game in the group full of confidence. The team under Jindrich Trpisovsky secured a 3-0 win in the top match in the Czech Republic on Sunday night in the derby against city rivals Sparta who are also Slavia’s main pursuers in the league. A brace from the 19-year-old winger Abdallah Sima, just a substitute in the previous game against Bayer 04, put his team on course for victory before half-time with Ondrej Lingr netting the third goal in the second half. "The lads produced a great performance," declared a happy coach Trpisovsky.
The victory has extended Slavia’s lead over Sparta to five points and – like Bayer 04 in Germany – they are unbeaten this season with an outstanding goal difference of 30 for and just three against. The same applies in the Europa League since the 1-0 win against the Werkself at the end of October with the Czech Republic side clocking up wins against Nice (3-2, 3-1) and Hapoel Be'er Sheva (3-0) and they are still top of the table. Trpisovsky will have to manage without Tomas Malinsky on Thursday. The winger, who started in the previous match against Bayer 04 and also made his debut for the Czech Republic this season, is out of action with a muscle injury. However, they have a first class replacement: Since Malinsky's injury, the Senegalese Sima, who was in the second team until the end of September, is playing on the right wing – where he has not only scored a brace in the derby but also at least one goal in each of Slavia’s last six games including all three Europa League ties. The Werkself will definitely have to keep an eye out for this whizz-kid.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Due to the last-minute postponement of the Bundesliga match between Hamburg and the Werkself on Tuesday, 13 January, Bayer 04 will reimburse the ticket price to all 3,500 fans who had already travelled to Hamburg as a sign of appreciation. The tickets remain valid for the rescheduled match (date not yet set).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Bundesliga fixture between Hamburger SV and Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been postponed at short notice.
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Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time in almost eight years. Although the Hanseatic city team are often below par on the road, they are regularly in top form in front of their own fans. In particular, 18-year-old shooting star Luka Vuskovic is proving to be a real bonus for Merlin Polzin's team, both in attack and defence. However, that should not scare the Werkself: Not only was the last defeat against the newly promoted team 17 games ago, but Kasper Hjulmand's players are in with a chance of securing their fifth win in six games against HSV. Today’s matchday news.
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