Lowdown on the opponents:
The Dutch club FC Utrecht are currently sixth in the Eredivisie. There are currently two Germans at Utrecht: Leon Guwara, formerly a player in the Bundesliga with SV Darmstadt, and Rico Strieder, who went through the youth ranks at FC Bayern for 12 years and played one game for the first team: He was left-back for the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 defeat for the record champions at Bayer 04 on 2 May 2015. Justin Hoogma is also part of the Utrecht squad this season on loan from Hoffenheim. The coach of the Dutch club is John van den Brom.
The van den Brom team have three games to play before the winter break starts. Utrecht visit Heracles Almelo on Sunday before playing FC Groningen in the second round of the Dutch cup competition four days later. FC Utrecht end 2019 with a league home game against Feyenoord.
FC St. Gallen, the reinvigorated big club from eastern Switzerland, have been managed by the German head coach Peter Zeigler since 2018. FC St. Gallen are in touch with the leading group in the Swiss Raiffeisen Super League with 35 points from 17 games behind reigning champions Young Boys Bern (37) and FC Basel (36). The fact St. Gallen are currently in third place is no coincidence as the team recently demonstrated. They have secured three 4-1 wins in the last three league games. That means the team coached by Zeigler, whose last job in Germany was at Stuttgarter Kickers over a decade ago in 2007, currently have the best attack in the league with 41 goals scored
There is also a German player at FC St. Gallen. Midfielder Lucas Görtler, who played for FC Utrecht last season, was signed by the Swiss club this summer and he was previously at FC Kaiserslautern from 2015 to 2017. FC St. Gallen have their last league game of the year on Saturday: They entertain fourth-placed FC Zürich.
The next fixture dates for the Werkself in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga have been finalised - and Bayer 04 will play on the same day of the week four times in a row. The German Football Association (DFB) announced the fixtures for matchdays 5 to 10 on Thursday afternoon.
Show more
Eintracht Frankfurt have made a perfect start to the season: The 5-0 victory in the first round of the DFB Pokal at Oberliga club FV Engers 07 was followed by two impressive wins in the Bundesliga against Werder Bremen (4-1) and TSG Hoffenheim (3-1). This Friday, 12 September (kick-off: 20:30 CEST/live on Sky and WOW), the team from Frankfurt visit the BayArena. Not exactly their favourite venue. After all, the last time Eintracht scored in Leverkusen was over ten years ago. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
New Bayer 04 head coach Kasper Hjulmand led his first training session in Leverkusen on Wednesday afternoon starting intensive preparations with the Werkself for the Bundesliga home clash against Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday night, 12 September (kick-off: 20.30 CEST). A large number of players were back from international duty and a new summer signing joined his new teammates on the training ground for the first time...
Show more
Kasper Hjulmand was officially introduced as the new head coach of the Werkself on Wednesday morning. In the packed press conference room at the BayArena, the 53-year-old Dane spoke about his anticipation of working with the Werkself and why the job appeals to him so much. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes also spoke about the reasons behind Hjulmand's appointment and their similar views and beliefs.
Show more
For many young people, football is an important part of their lives, it inspires and offers a sense of identification. Players are role models and the clubs embody social commitment. The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and the state's Bundesliga football clubs, including Bayer 04, are using this appeal to inform young people about career guidance programmes and to create offers that give them guidance and also support them in making a smooth transition from school education to practical training. After a successful first year, the commitment is now continuing - among other things with joint online and offline communication under the umbrella brand "Heimspiel Zukunft".
Show more
