Central defender Jonathan Tah was forthright at the pre-match press conference. The 25-year-old: “There’s no more ifs and maybes – we have to win and go through. That’s our clear target.”
To get there requires the team to be “focussed and aggressive” from the start. There should not be other initial phase as in the first leg: The Werkself were 2-0 down after 19 minutes and at half-time it was 3-0 to the hosts.
While Tah will again be in the line-up for the second game against Young Boys, Sven Bender is not in the squad. The experienced defender made his comeback on Sunday in the 1-1 draw at Augsburg after three months out due to injury and is set be gradually reintroduced with a busy period of fixtures coming up. Nadiem Amiri, who missed the game against FCA due to an infection, is fit again and could be an option against Young Boys. With the winger Karim Bellarabi (muscle injury), Bosz took a similar position, “we’ll see if he’s ready for the squad.”
Ahead of the knockout match at the BayArena, the Werkself head coach talked about the significance of the game against the Swiss club for Bayer 04. The 57-year-old: “The game is very important to us, we definitely want to go through to the next round. Our task is clear: to win.”
Match information:
Broadcasters: DAZN, RTL Nitro and Werks11 Radio
Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)
Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
Show more
Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
Show more
Carles Martìnez is raring to go. The 42-year-old speaks in his first interview in Leverkusen about the club's development to date and how he wants to build on it. He describes his previous work in France, Kuwait, Qatar and his native Barcelona, his experience in developing young players, and the key steps between now and the start of pre-season training.
Show more
New Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez has arrived in Leverkusen! At midday on Friday, the 42-year-old spoke in a press conference at the BayArena about his philosophy and his aims. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes also discussed the reasons for appointing the former Toulouse boss.
Show more
