Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.
"Cup games are always something special. This one match decides whether we can go through or not. It's a long way to the final and we have to take it step-by-step. We made a good start against Ottensen and we want to maintain that level. We need maximum concentration for the match against Sandhausen. We'll give 100%," declared coach Alonso at the start of the press conference.
SV Sandhausen, who appointed the former Schalke 04 head coach Jens Keller a few days ago, are definitely not to be underestimated by the Werkself. "We have respect for Sandhausen. They played very well against Hannover (4-2, First round of the DFB Pokal, ed.). We'll definitely have to play with the same professionalism as we did against Ottensen," said Alonso.
In addition, the Spaniard announced personnel changes for the game against Sandhausen. "We’ll change things around a bit. We are in an intense phase at the moment. We need every player for us to be able to progress in every competition. That's exactly why we had the clear approach to the squad in the summer. It was important for us to bring in several players of high quality for nearly every position. We did that and that means every player now gets a chance for a break and time to recover," said Spanish coach.
The Werkself can once again look forward to great support on the road. Given the demand for tickets, Bayer 04 endeavoured to obtain a bigger allocation ahead of the cup tie. 3,000 Bayer 04 fans are set to travel to Sandhausen tomorrow. Standing tickets are still available with the ticket office at the ground opening at 16.30 CET. According to SV Sandhausen, 9,000 to 10,000 fans are expected to attend the match, Sky will broadcast the tie live and the game will also be available free of charge on Werkself Radio.

Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 4-0 victory in the friendly match against KRC Genk...
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In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...

After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
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Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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