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Alonso: Pitch in Leverkusen 'playable' after title celebrations

DPA
·1 min read
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso (R) and sporting director Simon Rolfes celebrate winning the German championship after the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and SV Werder Bremen, at BayArena. Bayer Leverkusen will play their first home game since players and fans took it to the pitch to celebrate the club's maiden Bundesliga title, and coach Xabi Alonso said that "the grass is good and playable." David Inderlied/dpa

Bayer Leverkusen will play their first home game since players and fans took it to the pitch to celebrate the club's maiden Bundesliga title, and coach Xabi Alonso said that "the grass is good and playable."

"We spoke to the greenkeepers. They say the grass is good and playable. After the celebrations it's important to have it in a good condition," he said in a news conference on Friday.

Leverkusen host VfB Stuttgart on Saturday. Since claiming the title on April 14 against Werder Bremen, they only played away games at West Ham in the Europa League and at Borussia Dortmund.

Alonso will be without midfielder Granit Xhaka because of his fifth yellow card.

"I trust the squad that we can play well without him. He is an obviously a big influence but we have enough options to make a decision," the coach said.

Leverkusen are unbeaten in all their 45 season matches and will aim to finish the season undefeated. They still have four games left in the Bundesliga, the German Cup final against Kaiserslautern on May 25 and at least two Europa League semi-finals matches against Roma.