The good mood amongst the Royal Blues after a successful start to the season has recently wilted somewhat. The reason for that are the two defeats against Bayern Munich (0-3) and away to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (0-2). The team coached by Dominico Tedesco have only picked up three points out of the last three games (2-1 against Werder Bremen), which represents a poor return given the high expectations at Schalke. However, three wins in the first four league matches puts the team in seventh place as it stands. If the Royal Blues failed to get a result against the Werkself then they may lose contact with the leading group – otherwise fifth place is a possibility.
In his second year as general manager, Christian Heidel has continued to make huge changes to the FC Schalke squad: 15 players were sold, loaned out or released in the last transfer window – including the long-standing captain Benedikt Höwedes. The club spent around 40 million euros on new signings. Of those, only the 21-year-old Frenchman Amine Harit Has made an impression with three assists in the total of seven league goals for Schalke. Permanent signing Nabil Bentaleb (22) and Yevhen Konoplyanka (27) have not proved to be durable partners in attack for key player Leon Goretzka. However, Bentaleb is currently the most successful goalscorer for the Royal Blues with two goals so far. In contrast, the Spaniard Coke is not enjoying much luck: Schalke announced on Tuesday that the 30-year-old is sidelined again, this time with a knee injury that threatens to keep him out for several weeks.
The aim for coach Domenico Tedesco, who arrived in the summer, is to improve on last season's tenth-place finish and return Schalke to the European stage – and the club have backed that up with the necessary funds. The minimum target is a Europa League finish but ideally it would be qualification for the Champions League. That is still the hope amongst the Royal Blues despite all the changes in the squad. On paper, the team from Gelsenkirchen are certainly capable of it. The question is how long will it take for the 32-year-old coach to mould his team. Schalke have shown signs of that quality in the first six matches as was shown in the opening game this season in the 2-0 victory over Bundesliga runners-up RB Leipzig.
At the same time, the first six Bundesliga fixtures clearly showed the same deficits in terms of stability and confidence as under the former coach Markus Weinzierl. The team had weak phases in the matches at Werder Bremen and against newcomers VfB Stuttgart, which would probably have been ruthlessly exploited by stronger opponents. The desire to get onto the front foot again is clearly evident under Tedesco – but that has proved costly in defence with a goals conceded to date.
The recent defeat against Hoffenheim tends to cloud the good start although Schalke have been unlucky in terms of finishing at times. That has been seen as encouraging. In addition, the atmosphere in Gelsenkirchen is fairly relaxed in spite of the last two setbacks. According to the motto: Change requires patience. The Schalke club management know there is enough quality in the squad to achieve a European finish. That means they also need to be able to get results in games against direct rivals for a European spot – as in Friday's game against the Werkself.
The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
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The third showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 kicks off for the Leverkusen eSports team this Thursday, 11 December (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Red will once again take on six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round, which will take place at this third showdown on 19 December in Cologne. Showdown One winners Bayer 04 will face FC St. Pauli, who won the second showdown last month, among others. The lowdown on first three opponents in this online preliminary round.
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Alejandro Grimaldo, of course! With his late equaliser (88') in the Champions League clash against Newcastle United, the Spaniard rescued a point for the Werkself, who took the lead through an own goal by Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (13') but went with two goals for the visitors scored by Anthony Gordon (51') and Lewis Miley (74'). It was the third draw for Bayer 04 in the current 2025/26 campaign on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase.
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The Werkself will be looking to continue their run in the Champions League against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The two victories without conceding a goal at Benfica (1:0) and Manchester City (2-0) will hopefully be followed by a win at home at the BayArena. Against the English side, who have a player with a Black and Red past in their ranks, the way to victory could be through efficiency in attack and quick transitional play. The latter in particular has recently caused the Magpies problems away from home on the European stage. Fans can also get the stylish matchday sticker for their Sound of Dreams tour pass at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. The matchday news.
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For the first time ever, Bayer 04 have reached the knockout phase of the UEFA Youth League. At the end of the league phase, the Leverkusen U19s secured a 2-1 home win against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December. Montrell Culbreath scored before half-time and Ferdinand Pohl doubled the lead after the restart in the clash with the English side. The UCL youth competition continues at the beginning of February with the Round of 32, which will be played away from home without a second leg.
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