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The Werkself made a successful start to the new season with two wins in two Bundesliga games while the Lilies are still looking for their first points in the top-flight on the back of losing the DFB-Pokal tie against fourth tier FC Homburg 08. Xabi Alonso is expecting a tricky opponent at the weekend: "We have to be wide awake and focused on our game. The match against Darmstadt will be a tough one. Their game features a lot of set pieces and long balls. We have to control these situations. Against supposedly weaker opponents, we definitely don't want to make any avoidable mistakes," said Alonso at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
The approach to the last match before the forthcoming international break is clear: The Spaniard added: “We want to win our third league match before the break. That's our declared target."
Patrik Schick, Piero Hincapie plus the suspended Amine Adli are still unavailable. Timothy Fosu-Mensah is also ruled out due to a knee injury. New signing Nathan Tella and Nadiem Amiri will be in the squad.
Almost all the tickets for the Darmstadt game have been sold. There will be an away ticket office on the matchday.
In addition to the Bundesliga game, the members of the media present were also interested in the draw for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League 23/24 that took place just before the press conference. The Werkself will play three champions in Group H in Qarabag (Azerbaijan), Molde (Norway) and BK Häcken (Sweden). Alonso: "Our prime focus is on the Darmstadt game but we are very much looking forward to the Europa League. That is a reward for the hard work from last season. We want to compete and obviously go as far as we can. The group stage won't be easy. We will go into all the games with maximum respect."
The Spaniard then went into more detail on last season in the European competition and why the progress to the semi-finals is above all a special motivation for the new season in Europe: "We had very good experiences and went far. Getting so close to the final makes us hungry for more.”
Bayer 04 taking the home game against Darmstadt as occasion for the first Bayer Sports Family matchday. The historic connection between Bayer 04, TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Bayer AG is being revived under the Cross with joint events like the family matchday and other events. The programme starts with the opening of the stadium at 13.30 CEST in the concourse at the BayArena with a wide range of highlights. Information on the Bayer Sports Family matchday can be found HERE.
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Following the international break, the Bayer 04 women’s team face their next head-to-head clash in the race for a top spot in the Bundesliga. In Saturday’s home match (14:00 CEST), the fourth-placed side host third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Head coach Roberto Pätzold is well aware of the great opportunity this presents for his team.
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Bayer 04 make their first trip to Poland for over 30 years as they face Lech Poznan on Matchday 2 of the league phase in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. The game kicks off at 18:45 CEST on Thursday, but the team will be preparing for the action on Wednesday with training, travel and pre-match press conferences. We’ll bring you all the latest news here…
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Bayer 04 remain unbeaten in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. After winning the opener against NK Celje, the Werkself followed that up on Thursday night with a 4–0 win away at the Polish champions Lech Poznan. Patrik Schick, who came on as a substitute early in the game, scored twice from the penalty spot, and Malik Tillman also found the back of the net before half-time. The second half was a more subdued affair, with Ibrahim Maza scoring late on to seal the final 4-0 scoreline.
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Since 2023, Bayer 04 has been organising regular free goalkeeping coach training sessions at the BayArena. As in previous years, the event attracted enormous interest in mid-October 2026. Around 140 participants – mostly goalkeeping coaches from the region, but also team and academy coaches as well as association staff – came to the Werkself stadium to gain expert knowledge on the subject of zonal marking. Through a theoretical keynote presentation and a practical session on the pitch, the participants gained insights into goalkeeping and goalkeeper training at Bayer 04.
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