No wonder as Frankfurt are currently fifth in the Bundesliga and just two points behind the Werkself. A win for the Herrlich team could extend the lead over Eintracht and would bring the target of securing a Champions League place a step nearer ahead of the DFB Cup clash on Tuesday. "We want to make a positive impact on the game and take all three points," said the 46-year-old coach.
He hopes his players have learned from past mistakes and go into the game with the right attitude following the outstanding 4-1 victory over Leipzig on Monday. "We have to see desire. In the past it was less evident after we'd played well," said Herrlich in setting out his demands on his players. The Werkself produced an impressive performance in the 2-0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach a month ago before a lacklustre display in the derby at FC Köln. "I think all the players recognise the situation – we're in the run-in at the end of the season and now we're playing an opponent on a level with us who are also in the race for a European spot," said Herrlich before adding: "And it would be huge step forwards if we can beat a top six team at home. We haven't managed it so far."
To make sure that happens, he is once again trying to prepare his players as far as possible to take on the opposition. He has quoted Kevin Volland and Jonathan Tah as motivation. "Both of them said after the Leipzig match that the team has raised the bar and now they have to live up to that," declared the coach. "Those statements send a clear signal to their team-mates to demonstrate their readiness and repeat their success from Monday," said Herrlich before adding: "A team always depends on what's inside them and the players have to show their passion."
Lucas Alario (suspended), Wendell (ankle) and Joel Pohjanpalo will all miss the Frankfurt game. "Joel hasn't made it unfortunately," declared the Bayer 04 coach, "there are still questions marks over Sven Bender and keeper Bernd Leno. Well have to wait for the final pre-match training session." Both suffered knocks in Monday's game.
The Bayer 04 coach does not believe the opposition will be weakened in front of a full house at the BayArena by the announcement that Niko Kovac has been appointed as the new FC Bayern coach. "I assume the team and the coach are professional enough. They have European qualification in their sights. And they come here fully focused on that target and they will try to get a result." He did have words of praise for his fellow coach: "Congratulations to Niko. He has really achieved great things in the past few years and turned a relegation candidate into a team that has ambitions of competing at the very top. He's done a great job. My compliments to him.“
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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