The team under head coach Gerardo Seoane are well and truly back to winning ways: The late victory against Celtic on Thursday night not only saw the Black and Reds win the group with a game to play and secure a slot in the Round of 16. The 3-2 victory was also the third win in the last four games (1 draw). “In comparison with the Bochum match (1-0, ed.) we took a clear step forwards yesterday,” declared Seoane at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. “Above all in being compact at the back. We closed down space well, were aggressive and solid.”
Sunday’s visitors are not the only team in form at the moment. The hosts from Leipzig have recovered in recent weeks. RB made an impressive return to form in the Champions League with a 5-0 runaway win at Club Brugge. Seoane: “That match was enough of a preview. We know what to expect. But we also know we have the players to find the right solutions against them.”
It remains to be seen whether any of the convalescent quartet of Patrik Schick, Lucas Alario, Karim Bellarabi and Charles Aránguiz will be in the squad. “The final decision will be taken on Saturday afternoon in discussion with doctors and the physios,” said Seoane. He did consider including one or the other aforementioned players in the squad for the Europa League match against Celtic but decided against it in the end.
The Werkself are the only team in Germany’s top flight unbeaten on the road. With the first match behind closed doors this term, Lukas Hradecky and Co. will experience new, old circumstances. “Unfortunately, we’ve all been involved in games behind closed doors and we have drawn certain conclusions from those experiences. We’ll get used to it pretty quickly,” declared Seoane. “Of course, it’s a great pity there’ll be no fans at the game. We need them and their emotion.” In view of the precarious situation in Saxony, the Swiss coach said: “It’s clear the public health situation always has to take priority.”
Former Bundesliga and Germany keeper Manfred Manglitz, who was promoted to the Oberliga West with Bayer 04 in 1962, passed away on Monday at the age of 86.
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Justine Brandau and Lobke Loonen joined the Bayer 04 Women’s squad in quick succession this summer. The two Dutch players have been friends since their youth days, and are now playing for the same club for the first time. In an interview at the training camp in Rieden, Brandau and Loonen talk, amongst other things, about their experiences as opponents in the Vrouwen Eredivisie, the dynamic within their new team and their first few weeks in Leverkusen.
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The Werkself fixture list for the 2026/27 season in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga has been finalised. To kick off the season, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team travel to RB Leipzig between 21 and 24 August. The fixtures were announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday morning. The season will conclude with a home match on 23 May 2027 against newly promoted side Mainz 05.
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On Wednesday evening, Monheim City Council voted against a planning resolution for the Bayer 04 Campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße in Monheim in a secret ballot, with 19 votes in favour, 25 against and one abstention. The legal status of the project therefore remains unchanged.
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