U19s and U17s both face Bielefeld

U19: Duo back in training

There is one piece of good news from the camp of the oldest Bayer 04 youth teams. Long-term injuries Marvin Alexa and Achunike Ekene have increased their training regime over the past few days and have already completed small elements of full training. But the duo are not an option for the U19 clash at Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday, 26 September (kick-off: 15.00 CEST/Böllhoff Stadium).

Markus von Ahlen, who is in charge of the U19s along with Patrik Weiser, sees the need for improvement above all in converting chances after the 1-0 defeat against Borussia Mönchengladbach on matchday one. This is the aim against a "robust" Arminia team.

Seymour Fünger, Kingsley Sarpei, Yannick Schlösser, Emrehan Gedikli, Ali Barak and new signing Tiago Estevao are all ruled out through injury. And goalkeeper Marcel Johnen will also be watching the game; he was sent off against Mönchengladbach on 26 minutes and will be replaced in Bielefeld by Jakob Brambach.

U17: DSC "always a challenge"

The Leverkusen U17s also face Bielefeld. In contrast to the older year group, the team coached by Thomas Zdebel/Jan Hoepner entertained the side from East Westphalia at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 27 September (kick-off: 13.00 CEST).

"Were expecting to play a battling team who mostly try their luck on the break," explained Hoepner also declared: "but it's really difficult to say what to expect after just a week. One thing is certain, Bielefeld are always a challenge." While the Black and Reds open with a 2-2 draw at Fortuna Köln, Arminia beat Lippstadt 4-1.

U14s away to FC Köln

The younger youth teams have been playing for a couple of weeks – and are also in action at the weekend. The U15s, who have not conceded a goal in the Regional League West in three games, are away to Wuppertaler SV on Saturday (kick-off:15.00 CEST/Sportplatz Nocken). The hosts have conceded the second highest number of goals after VfL Bochum.

The Leverkusen U14s are playing at the same time as the U15s in the youth cup at neighbours FC Köln. The Black and Red youngsters have not lost a point in three games and are looking to extend that run in Cologne. The U13s, also with a perfect record to date, entertain MSV Duisburg (kick-off: 11.00 CEST/Kurtekotten).

Other fixtures:
U12 vs RW Oberhausen (M)
U11 vs Schalke 04 (RSC)
U10 vs Eintracht Frankfurt and TSG Wieseck (LV)
U9 vs FC Köln (RSC)
U8 vs Ford Niehl U9 (M)

(M) = League | (F) = Friendly | (RSC) = Reviersportcup | (LV) = Competition