Back
7.02.2025Werkself-TV

Alonso ahead of #WOBB04: “One of the hardest away games”

After three straight home games across three different competitions, Bayer 04 now head to Wolfsburg for Matchday 21 in the Bundesliga. Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s game, head coach Xabi Alonso talked about switching focus back to the league from the DFB Pokal, the hosts’ form and a player who’s set to return.

Display videos

Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.

“Obviously the mood in the team is good,” Alonso stated on Friday, two days after his side beat Köln in a cup derby to reach the semi-finals. “But that game is now behind us. Our focus is fully on the Bundesliga. That’s our most important competition.”

Speaking about Wolfsburg, who come into this weekend sat 10th in the table, he said: “It’ll be a very hard game, one of the hardest away games of the season. I felt at the start of the season they could have a good year. They’ve stabilised after some initial difficulties and have a clear style under Ralph Hasenhüttl.”

Adli set to return

The game in Wolfsburg, for which 2,350 Leverkusen fans are set to make the journey, brings the end to a busy period of seven matches in the space of 21 days. “It’s the last big effort of a long and intense spell with a lot of games. We’ll give our all again,” the Spaniard affirmed, looking ahead to a calmer period of three weeks with games only on weekends.

Alejandro Grimaldo won’t be involved this weekend as the left-back serves a suspension for his red card against Hoffenheim, while he’s also suffering the effects of a knock to the head against Köln. “He’ll almost certainly be fit again for Bayern next week,” Alonso stated.

However, the boss confirmed that Amine Adli will be in the matchday squad for the first time since his leg fracture in October. It means Jeanuel Belocian and Martin Terrier are the only confirmed absentees alongside Grimaldo. “We had a tough period with injuries a few months ago but have come through it well. It’s really important that we can now call upon almost all the players again. Competition in the squad is very important,” Alonso concluded.

Related News

Kurzpässe vor #B04RBL
Bundesliga - 02.05.2026

Matchday news #B04RBL: All in red for the next top match win

In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.

Show more
Garcia und Grimaldo
eSports - 01.05.2026

Bayer 04 represented in Bundesliga Team of the Season again

Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.

Show more
T-Shirt-Verkauf für den guten Zweck mit Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza und Christian Kofane
Bayer 04 - 01.05.2026

Big crowd at shirt sale for a good cause with Tapsoba, Maza and Kofane - last chance at home matchday

This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.

Show more
Spaß im Training
Women - 01.05.2026

Bayer 04 Women on hunt for records in Essen

With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).

Show more
Rudi Vollborn
Bayer 04 - 01.05.2026

Rudi recounts…: Vollborn’s May highlights

Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…

Show more