"After the cup exit, we're now in a different situation and fully focused on the league," stressed Alonso, outlining the strategy for the rest of the season. "We're still in an interesting position in it. There are seven games left and we want to be ready for every one. We want to win all these matches, starting tomorrow."
An honest assessment of the 2-1 defeat at Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB Cup semi-finals was also necessary for that. "We all spoke openly together yesterday to share our emotions," revealed the Spaniard. "Above all it was about mentality and courage. Pain is normal after such a big disappointment. We've not had too many setbacks in the last 25 months - the team and I need to learn from it. It would be foolish to do otherwise. From today, though, the focus is back on football and on Heidenheim. We want to show a clear reaction tomorrow," he continued. To do that, they need "confidence on the ball and good passing sequences" again, explained Alonso.
The Bayer 04 boss also cautioned against the hosts, who have won their last two matches against Holstein Kiel (3-1) and Wolfsburg (1-0): "We expect a tough game against tough-acting opponents, similar to Bochum last week. They're fighting for survival, which we'll realise."
On the personnel front, Alonso can count on one returnee: Edmond Tapsoba is expected to be back in the squad, although no decision will be made about his involvement until after the final training session on Friday afternoon. The same goes for Exequiel Palacios.
There's also good news on Florian Wirtz: the 21-year-old is joining in with the first part of the activation in today's final training session. "If everything continues to go well, he'll train with the team again next week, but we're waiting to see."
The Werkself will be supported by 2,000 fans in Heidenheim.
Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
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The Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.
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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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