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“The winter break was good for us, enjoying a breather with our families. But now we’re glad to get going again,” Alonso stated at his press conference on Friday. “The players have come back with very good energy and in a good condition. We had a high tempo in training from the start. I also liked the friendly match [against Venezia]. We’re absolutely ready, although it’s always tough in Augsburg.” The Werkself in fact lost both meetings with the Bavarians last season.
Augsburg have been much better under Jess Thorup, earning 13 of their 18 points this season since the Dane took over in mid-October. “They’ve very much improved since then, also playing well in their friendly against Hoffenheim [1-0 win],” added Alonso. Augsburg rank bottom of the Bundesliga this season for possession (41.2%), while the Werkself are second with (60.7%), just behind Bayern Munich (61%).
Bayer 04 go to Augsburg without the injured Arthur and Victor Boniface, while Odilon Kossounou, Edmond Tapsoba and Amine Adli are competing at the Africa Cup of Nations. “We were prepared for the situation with the Cup of Nations,” Alonso explained. “We have a good squad and everyone is looking good.”
One of those is Patrik Schick, who bagged a hat-trick in the final game of last year against Bochum. “Patrik is very dangerous in the box and has excellent positional play. He’s also ready for 90 minutes,” the Spaniard stated before also mentioning: “Adam [Hlozek] can play there as well and is in good form. Same with Amine. We’ve got great confidence in every player in general.” It means the club is not under any pressure to sign any additional players. When asked, however, Alonso added: “But if a good option comes up, we’re ready.”
The Werkself will enjoy great support in Augsburg with 2,300 away fans accompanying the team, which is three times more than have ever watched Leverkusen at the WWK Arena.
The club can also announce at the start of this year that the number of away season tickets sold over the winter break has risen by over 200%.
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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