Position
If everything goes to form then Bayern will be champions again and not only Tayfun Korkut is sure of that. FCB have 68 points from 28 games in a season where many experts said they were beatable as never before. However, Ancelotti's men proved to be wrong and now have a ten-point lead over second-placed RB Leipzig. Bayern are also determined to win the Champions League but they did suffer a disappointing 2-1 defeat on their own turf against Real Madrid in the quarter-final first leg on Wednesday night.
Personnel
There is more talk about the personnel situation now than for many a long day. Above all, Robert Lewandowski is irreplaceable as top scorer and even if the Poland international recovers from a shoulder injury by Saturday he will be unavailable to Ancelotti due to a one-match ban. Mats Hummels is also probably ruled out with an ankle injury. However, beware of a Plan B like Boateng.
Potential
When Real Madrid regret allowing a player to go to FC Bayern then that demonstrates the quality of individual players in the FCB squad. That refers to Arjen Robben as the former Real president Calderon would still like to see him playing in the Spanish capital. Robben, in addition to the suspended Lewandowski, is the outstanding player for Bayern at the moment and in the recent 4-1 victory against Borussia Dortmund he was joined on the other wing by Franck Ribéry. The duo have tormented opponents over the years.
Problems
The personnel situation has been discussed in detail. On top of that, there are the games against Real Madrid in the week before and the week after the clash at the BayArena. It cannot be ruled out that the Champions League quarter-final is the main focus for Bayern. On the pitch, Bayern have proved to be most susceptible in the opening 30 minutes of matches. They have conceded 9 out of 15 goals in the league during those phases of games.
Prediction
The treble is the big dream but even Pep Guardiola could not achieve it. Bayern have been waiting for a repeat of that ultimate triumph since 2013 under Jupp Heynckes and despite the home defeat against Real Madrid they are still in with a chance. The first title of the season is as good as sealed with the championship in reach even without the points against Leverkusen.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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