Kasper Hjulmand has urged his Bayer Leverkusen team to rediscover their clinical edge ahead of two big fixtures over the next seven days. 

Leverkusen are in Bundesliga action on Saturday, welcoming Werder Bremen to BayArena before their final league phase clash with Villarreal in the Champions League. 

The Werkself are 20th in the 36-team European standings and know a win will cement their place in the play-off places following a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Olympiacos. 

Indeed, it was Leverkusen's first Champions League defeat against a side from outside Europe's big-five leagues since losing 3-0 to Porto back in October 2022. 

But during that game, Leverkusen had their chances. They registered an expected goals (xG) total of 2.58 from their 17 shots, though only six of those were on target. 

"We have created a lot of chances, but we have to take them. That will, of course, be very important for a result tomorrow," Hjulmand told reporters. 

"With a win and then another win in the Champions League against Villarreal, things would look a lot better again. We have to show character.

"And I'm sure we'll be able to do that. We are motivated."

A lot of Leverkusen's struggles have come at the start of games, with Costinha opening the scoring for Olympiacos with just 92 seconds on the clock in midweek. 

"We want and need to put in a performance on the pitch that will bring us a win," Hjulmand added.

"It will be important to get into the game better than last time. We want possession, lots of passing, movement.

"But maybe we need to do something different in the first few minutes."

With the January transfer window coming to a close, Hjulmand was also asked about potential incomings at the club following a busy summer of activity. 

The Leverkusen boss remained coy on any new arrivals, but was able to provide some insight on his current squad, confirming he will be without four players on Saturday. 

Mark Flekken, Nathan Tella, Edmond Tapsoba and Eliesse Ben Seghir are all unavailable, though Hjulmand revealed that Exequiel Palacios was fit for selection. 

Palacios has missed the last four months with an adductor injury. 

"Our squad has a lot of quality and talent. I will discuss everything else with Simon Rolfes as usual," Hjulmand said of dealing with Leverkusen's absentees. 

"Pala is a lion in a cave. He brings a lot of emotion and experience with him. His return and his infectious nature will give the team a boost."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Bayer Leverkusen – Aleix Garcia

If any of the Leverkusen players could come out with any credit after their loss to Olympiacos, then it is certainly Aleix Garcia, who impressed at Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki.

The Spaniard finished with team-high totals for touches (140), accurate passes (107), passes into the final third (34) and interceptions (four). 

Werder Bremen – Romano Schmid

Romano Schmid has five assists in the Bundesliga this season, already surpassing his tally from the entire previous Bundesliga campaign (four).

Across the league, only Bayern Munich's Michael Olise has created more big chances for his teammates (18) than Schmid (11).

He has also scored more Bundesliga goals against Bayer Leverkusen than any other side (three), netting in each of his last three matches against them.

MATCH PREDICTION: BAYER LEVERKUSEN WIN

Bremen have won just one of their last 11 Bundesliga meetings with the Werkself (D6 L4), though that victory came in their last away match at Leverkusen in March 2025 (2-0).

However, consecutive Bundesliga wins for Bremen away at Leverkusen have only been achieved once before: between 2007 and 2008 (two wins under Thomas Schaaf).

But both sides are in need of a win. Bremen have recently gone seven Bundesliga matches in a row without a win (D3 L4). This is the longest active streak among current top-flight teams and Werder's longest such run since February to April 2024 (also seven).

Leverkusen, meanwhile, have lost four of their last six Bundesliga matches (W2 D0 L4) after losing the same amount in their previous 43 league games. Since Matchday 12, no other team has lost as many Bundesliga matches as Hjulmand's side (four). 

In addition, Leverkusen, along with St. Pauli, are the only two sides to have not picked up a single point in the Bundesliga in 2026 (two games each). The Werkself have also started a calendar year with two Bundesliga defeats for the first time since 2004. 

And many of Leverkusen's problems have come from a familiar source. They have already conceded 12 goals from set-pieces in the Bundesliga this season, with only Koln conceding more (17).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Bayer Leverkusen – 56.8%

Draw – 21.9%

Werder Bremen – 21.3%