
Regardless of the late withdrawal of Benjamin Henrichs and Jonathan Tah, head coach Heiko Herrlich will have to make do without six first team players. While it is the last chance saloon for two of the Werkself stars and their national teams, the others are involved in friendly fixtures.
Admir Mehmedi (Switzerland) and Panos Retsos (Greece) are battling for a place in next year's World Cup finals in Russia: Switzerland are away to Northern Ireland on Thursday (9 November, 20.45 CET) with the return match in Basel on Sunday (12 November, 18.00 CET). Greece take on Croatia in the World Cup play-offs – the first leg is on Thursday (20.45 CET) and the second leg is at home in Piraeus on Sunday (20.45 CET).
Bernd Leno and Julian Brandt are under far less pressure ahead of joining the Germany squad on Tuesday. They are possibles for the friendlies against England on Friday (10 November, 21 .00 CET) and France in Cologne a week on Tuesday (14 November, 20.45 CET).
The captain of Austria, Julian Baumgartlinger, has also been called up for a friendly: 'Baumi' and his fellow Austrians face Uruguay (Tuesday, 14. November, 20.45 CET). Heiko Herrlich will be without the services of Joel Pohjanpalo over the next few days as the 23-year-old is in the Finland squad for the game against Estonia on Thursday 9 November at 18.00 CET.
In addition to the six players from the first team, two Bayer 04 youth players are also away on international duty: Sam Schreck and Atakan Akkaynak are set to play for the Germany U19s in a friendly against Cyprus (Sunday, 12 November, 14.30 CET).
The aforementioned Bayer 04 players are unavailable for the Werkself in the friendly against second division MSV Duisburg on Thursday (9 November) at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium (15.00 CET, free entry).

Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time since February 2018 in their rearranged Bundesliga Matchday 17 clash. After long years in the second division, the Red Shorts have gradually reestablished themselves in the top flight this season, thanks in particular to their strong home record and third-best tackle success rate in the league. There'll be a fierce battle in the air too, as three of the highest-scoring centre-backs in the Bundesliga could be on the pitch at the Volksparkstadion - two of them for Leverkusen. The Matchday News.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), has announced the six nominees for the February 2026 Bundesliga Player of the Month award. Not one, but two Werkself players are on the list in Edmond Tapsoba and Alejandro Grimaldo. Supporters of the Black-and-Reds have from now until midnight on Sunday 8 March to vote!
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After the original fixture on 13 January was postponed due to weather-related structural risks to the Volksparkstadion's roof, Hamburger SV now host Bayer 04 Leverkusen this evening, Wednesday 4 March (kick-off 20:30 CET), in the rearranged Matchday 17 meeting. It's a second home game in three days for HSV - an update on the opponents.
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The German Football League (DFL) has announced the three candidates for Bundesliga ‘Rookie of the Month’ for February. Among the candidates is Werkself player Jarell Quansah. Fans of Bayer 04 can vote for their favourite on the Bundesliga app from now until Thursday, 5 March (23:59 CET).
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