Herrlich has no objections to building on recent success as he admitted at the pre-match press conference ahead of the league match in Frankfurt: "We want to carry on where we left off against RB Leipzig last week: We're obviously going there to win the game. That would represent a huge step forwards for us." The Werkself are two points behind the team in seventh and a win would take the Black and Reds above Eintracht and keep them in touch with the top spots. The encounter promises much excitement. "The way I see Frankfurt they can easily compete for a European finish. They have an outstanding coach in Niko Kovac. Since he took over as coach the team has moved out of the relegation zone and continue to develop – last season they were even in the DFB Cup final," said Herrlich.
"The statistics are well known and they have the third best defence in the league. So it will bee very difficult for us to score there," predicted Herrlich. The Werkself head coach particularly praised the tactical finesse of the team from Hessen: "We're playing against a very good side that's very flexible both in attack and defence and are therefore difficult to predict. Sometimes they push up, sometimes they sit back and play out from defence or they choose to play a long, targeted ball to Sebastien Hallér." Herrlich made it clear his team needed to deal with Eintracht's top scorer (five goals) and new signing Kevin Prince Boateng. Last season, he used Frankfurt games to further his work. So it's no surprise that Herrlich is expecting a "very difficult task": "We again need to build on our work against the ball like we did so well against Leipzig."
In terms of the line-up, Bayer 04 primarily have to be prepared to make changes in defence: In addition to Wendell (fifth yellow card) and Benjamin Henrichs (one-match suspension), Sven Bender is not yet available following his double rib fracture. Although he was able to train during the week the defender was still suffering pain. "He's only up to 70 per cent so we won't take any risks. All the players who can give 100 per cent can help us more. We have 20 fit outfield players and a lot of quality in reserve," explained Herrlich. He will also have to manage without Vladlen Yurchenko (bruised foot). In contrast, he again has Panos Retsos available. Following his cold at the start of the week he returned to training on Wednesday and is in the squad for tomorrow's game.
Around 1,300 Werkself supporters are expected to follow the team to Frankfurt.
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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