They completed the final pre-match training session on Monday morning as well as the two highly intense sessions the day before: Robert Andrich and Karim Bellarabi have returned from injury – and are available for the return game against Atalanta. In response to a question about Andrich, Gerardo Seoane explained: "Rob contributes a certain factor. His distinctive ball-winning ability and uncompromising approach, including in the air, is good for our game."
Missing for the second leg are Florian Wirtz (torn cruciate), Jeremie Frimpong (ankle ligament injury), Patrik Schick (thigh), goalkeeper Andrey Lunev (rehab after ankle injury) plus Julian Baumgartlinger, who was not named in the Europa League squad due to numbers.
The situation is clear. Given the defeat in the first leg, the hosts at the BayArena have to win to reach the quarter-finals. "That doesn't change our basic approach. We always go onto the pitch to win the game," declared Seoane. "It's an important match for both teams and both have the ambition to go through to the next round."
The Swiss coach said about the team currently seventh in Serie A: "Atalanta are an unflappable team with high intensity and ball-winning ability," said the 43-year-old boss. "We will need a more consistent performance than in the first leg." And as a unit if possible. Due to the long term absence of Wirtz and Frimpong, everybody in the team and on the staff is aware that "we all have to pull even closer together."
Midfield dynamo Exequiel Palacios was also on the top table at the Media Centre at the BayArena on Wednesday. The Argentina international compared the forthcoming knockout game to a final but also emphasised: "It will be an intense dual against a good opponent. Above all, we have to close off their counter-attacks and be very focused in midfield."

Asked about his injured teammates Wirtz and Frimpong, the 23-year-old midfielder said: "Of course, they are key players in our system. But we also have a lot of other good lads with great quality who can make up for their absence," Palacios concluded: "We will give our all for the two of them but also for our fans at the stadium."

This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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