Speaking at the press conference ahead of the Freiburg game, Heiko Herrlich shared his views on…
…possible absentees against SC Freiburg: "The players came through yesterday's game against Larnaca fit and well. As it stands today, everybody's available for Sunday (apart from long-term injuries Charles Aranguiz, Julian Baumgartlinger, Panagiotis Retsos and Joel Pohjanpalo, ed.)."
… the expected tactical approach from SC Freiburg: "They've played with three different systems this season – and they'll definitely use one of them on Sunday. I can well imagine they will want to play against us like they did at home to Schalke 04 (1-0; matchday 5, ed.) .“
…the last meeting in the Breisgau: "I'm expecting a similarly tough game as last season (0-0, ed.). SC Freiburg play a pressing game and there's a method to it – they have an absolutely passionate coach in Christian Streich and they play like that too. I'm an absolute fan of his."
…a solid defence: "In every game, we aim to defend as well as we can and keep a clean sheet. Not letting in goals is a positive sign – especially for the defence which involves, and places demands on, all the players. We didn't manage it against Larnaca yesterday but we're travelling to Freiburg with the intention of keeping a clean sheet there."
…the number of goals conceded this season: "The goals we've let in this season were mostly due to individual errors in the build-up to them. For example, if you look at the two goals we let in yesterday, the first came from a set-piece that we should have defended better – the ball was passed on and we were just too late getting to it and then the goal's conceded. The goal to make it 3-2 was simply due to a communication error between Tin Jedvaj and Mitchell Weiser and it shouldn't have happened. We definitely need to improve here and there."
…the return of Panagiotis Retsos: "We hope he can return to full training during the international break – and the same goes for Julian Baumgartlinger and Charles Aránguiz. The plan is to bring them back one-by-one but it obviously depends on whether they come through their individual training sessions."
Around 750 Leverkusen fans are expected to be at the Schwarzwald Stadium on Sunday to support the Werkself at Freiburg.
Freiburg’s defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend left them two places but a whole 10 points behind Bayer 04. Their results in general may be mixed, but Julian Schuster’s side are a force to be reckoned with at home, where they have earned 24 of their 33 points. Leverkusen may choose to look for the aerial route if they’re to get the better of their hosts, who have conceded more headed goals than any other team. Here’s all you need to know ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game in our matchday news.
Show more
A boost for the second Bundesliga away game in a row: The Werkself take on SC Freiburg just three days after the convincing 1-0 win at Hamburger SV. Ahead of the game on Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the lessons learned from the rearranged fixture at HSV, a trio on yellow cards and young players like Christian Kofane and Montrell Culbreath.
Show more
SC Freiburg suffered their eighth away defeat of the season in Frankfurt last weekend. But at home, at the Europa Park Stadion, coach Julian Schuster's team are clocking up one win after the next. SCF are unbeaten in the last 16 matches at home. On Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET), they will be looking to keep the run going in the clash with the Werkself. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
For the third time in a row, the Leverkusen eSports players have made it through to the final round of the VBL Club Championship. From 7 to 8 March, they will compete for the German Club Championship at XPERION in Hamburg. At the start of the final round, they face Hamburger SV in the Round of 16. The match starts at 19:30 CET on Saturday, 7 March and will be broadcast live on the VBL Twitch channel. The eSports preview.
Show more
