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Xhaka called London home for seven years during his time at Arsenal and said he had a “great time here”. Now the Switzerland international returns for the first time with Bayer 04 and is preparing for an encounter at the London Stadium, where the 31-year-old experienced a number of exciting match-ups. “There are regularly over 60,000 people in the stadium. Same again tomorrow. And they definitely won’t be there for us. But we come here with great confidence from the first leg and want to progress. That’s clear,” he said.
When asked, the midfielder didn’t want the weekend’s title celebrations to be an excuse for Thursday. “Obviously we celebrated a little, but within reason. We have a big task ahead of us again tomorrow. We want to reach the semi-finals. We’re very hungry.”
Coach Alonso is expecting a “hard game. West Ham showed Freiburg that they can overcome a first-leg defeat.” The Hammers had lost 1-0 in Germany in their round of 16 tie but then progressed thanks to a 5-0 win back at home. “We’ll play our game and definitely won’t just defend. That’s not our way,” he added.
The Spaniard firmly believes that the Werkself will again perform well in this second leg: “The players give me no doubt about believing in them. Their concentration, focus and hunger are special.”
The Werkself can count on the support of over 3,000 travelling fans from Leverkusen for a sold-out away section at the London Stadium.
One person who isn’t in the UK capital is Borja Iglesias. “He’s got muscular problems. We need to wait and see how things are with him in the coming days. It could well be that he also misses Dortmund. We need to see with him and Adam Hlozek whether they’ll be ready for the Stuttgart game,” explained Alonso, who otherwise has a full squad at his disposal. And they are all ready, as the coach explained, since “we want to take our big chance in the Europa League as well.”
New signing Miguel Gutiérrez has made a good start at Leverkusen and has promptly earned a nomination for Player of the Month in his first few weeks in the Bundesliga. He has scored one goal and provided three assists in four league games. The Spanish left-back has also brought some impressive stats with him to Bayer 04. Issue #56 of the Werkself magazine has taken a look at these figures. ‘Facts & Fun’ with Miguel Gutiérrez.
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With seven points, Mainz 05 are currently joint seventh, level on points with sixth-placed Bayer 04. In today’s head-to-head clash (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself must be particularly wary of the clinical Mainz strike duo. For Leverkusen fans who have left it to the last minute, there are still a few tickets available from the matchday ticket office. Those following the Black and Reds from home, on the other hand, have a choice: RTL is broadcasting the match on free-to-air TV, and Werkself Radio is also offering the expert commentary of former Bayer 04 player Falko Götz. Today’s matchday news.
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Back from the international break: On Saturday 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to Mainz 05. Ahead of the clash at the MEWA ARENA against the side currently sixth in the table, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the team’s work during the extended international break. The Spaniard also commented, when asked, on a number of squad matters, including Ibrahim Maza.
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Thomas Eichin has been working for Bayer 04 for six years – as Director of Professional Teams since July 2023 – and has contributed to the successful development of our club in many areas. Today, Friday 9 October, Freiburg-born Eichin is celebrating his 60th birthday. We wish him a very happy birthday.
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