'I am no Harry Potter' – Ten Hag has no magic solution for Leverkusen

Erik ten Hag has reiterated he has no magic wand to instantly improve things at Bayer Leverkusen after a busy period of outgoings for the Bundesliga giants.

Ten Hag watched on as his Leverkusen side were beaten 2-1 by Hoffenheim on the opening matchday of the 2025-26 campaign, with Tim Lemperle scoring a 52nd-minute winner.

The Dutchman, while acknowledging improvements needed to be made, said it should not come as a shock given the overhaul of his squad over the last couple of months.

As well as losing previous boss Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, the likes of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, Jonathan Tah and Granit Xhaka have all left the club.

In addition, Piero Hincapie has been linked with a move to Arsenal, which could be confirmed before Leverkusen take on Werder Bremen this Saturday.

"Pressure is always there and we must win. That's clear," Ten Hag told a press conference. "I am no Harry Potter. We will work to take a step forward.

"We know the reasons [for the Hoffenheim defeat]. We have corrected it and need to apply it now. We must always win.

"We have to win every game and find a way to do it. We did it well a few times in the pre-season, but not well last week."

Leverkusen have aimed to combat those departures, with 15 new faces joining Ten Hag's ranks, and he revealed that he expects some more additions in the coming days.

"Let us wait," Ten Hag added. "In the final days or hours, anything can happen. There are always surprises. This has been a very busy transfer window.

"One or two things could still happen on the weekend for us and for the whole transfer market. On Tuesday we will know what it will look like."

One of Leverkusen's recent pieces of business has seen them welcome the experienced Lucas Vazquez from Real Madrid following his departure from the club in July.

Vazquez enjoyed a trophy-laden 10 years with Madrid, winning 23 trophies during his time in the Spanish capital, including four LaLiga titles and five Champions League crowns.

He made 402 appearances for Los Blancos in all competitions, scoring 38 goals and registering 59 assists before departing after their Club World Cup campaign.

Vazquez spoke of his positive conversations with former Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso about his time in Germany.

The Spaniard also had chats with Dani Carvajal, who spent one season at Leverkusen, and Toni Kroos, who had seven years of Bundesliga experience with Bayern Munich.

"They told me a lot of positive things about Bayer 04, advised me to make the move and said that the atmosphere at the club is very friendly," Vazquez said.

"Therefore, it was an option I definitely wanted to take advantage of. What I've seen so far definitely confirms those thoughts.

"Everybody's told me how great it is to live here, that it's a good place for me and my family and that the people here are very respectful.

"Therefore, I'm already looking forward to getting to know the German culture. I think it will be a great adventure here in Germany."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Werder Bremen – Justin Njinmah

Njinmah scored his 10th goal in the Bundesliga during Bremen's opening-day loss to Eintracht Frankfurt and could score in two consecutive top-flight matches for the first time.

The 24-year-old netted in his last appearance against Leverkusen, scoring the final goal in a 2-0 triumph. Against no side has he managed more direct goal involvements than the Werkself (two, level with Cologne and Mainz).

Bayer Leverkusen – Alex Grimaldo

While several of Leverkusen's top performers under Alonso have left for pastures new, one player that remains is Grimaldo, who led from the front in their defeat to Hoffenheim.

He got the assist for Jarell Quansah's opening goal in that game, which was his 21st for the Werkself in the Bundesliga.

Indeed, since the Spaniard's debut in August 2023, only former team-mate Wirtz has recorded more assists (23) than him (21, the same as Borussia Dortmund's Julian Brandt).

MATCH PREDICTION: BAYER LEVERKUSEN WIN

While Leverkusen are the favourites according to Opta's pre-match simulations, they are winless in four Bundesliga matches dating back to last season (D2 L2), their longest such run since between April and May 2023 (five).

However, the Werkself have only started with two defeats once in the last six Bundesliga seasons, which came in 2022-23 under Gerardo Seoane.

Leverkusen are also unbeaten in 34 away Bundesliga matches (W23, D11), the longest such streak in Bundesliga history.

They last lost in Bremen almost nine years ago (1-2 in October 2016) and have remained undefeated in their last seven top-flight matches there since then (W4, D3).

Bremen, meanwhile, have won only one of their last 10 Bundesliga matches against Leverkusen (D5 L4), the most recent by a 2-0 margin in March.

However, only against Bayern Munich (9%) do the Werkself have a lower away win rate in the top flight than against Bremen (20% - at least 15 away games).

Horst Steffen's side have also not lost any of their last four Bundesliga home games (W2 D2) and have kept a clean sheet in all of them (currently the longest such streak in the league) – five consecutive Bundesliga home games without conceding a goal would equal their club record, last achieved by the Bremen team from February to April 1993.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Werder Bremen – 27.9%

Draw – 24.6%

Bayer Leverkusen – 47.5%