"Wolfsburg have two difficult seasons behind them and ambitions were certainly higher after being in the Champions League. But the performances in the first two games this season show they don't want to go through the same experience again," said the Werkself head coach Heiko Herrlich at Friday's pre-match press conference – held at the media centre in the BayArena immediately after the Europa League group draw – looking at progress in the DFB Cup (1-0 at Regional League side SV Elversberg) and the surprise win against Schalke 04. "They have a number of highly talented players and last week beat a club who are among the front runners for a Champions League finish. We want to get there too but it does also show what Wolfsburg are capable of. We definitely won't underestimate them, we're up against an opponent looking to compete on equal terms," said the 46-year-old.
The Bayer 04 coach is optimistic his players will perform better than in last week's game at Gladbach. On one hand, chances should be taken against Wolfsburg and, on the other, the drop in performance levels in the second half should be avoided. "Our ambitions are clear in that we want to win all our games. We showed that in the first half against Gladbach by creating good chances. You could criticise the lads for not scoring – but they didn't miss deliberately and they wouldn't do that," said Herrlich. His players eased off after the restart and were guilty of an increasing number of individual mistakes. "We had that situation on a number of occasions last season. But you can't forget we were the second youngest team. I think it's quite possible our players will soon be at a point when they perform perfectly. But that's a process we are working on with them and I believe we are on track," said Herrlich who emphasised that his Werkself team is eager to be successful.
The coach is keen to see a positive effect from the international call up for his players during the week, which included Kai Havertz being in the Germany squad for the first time. "I think it can produce a positive atmosphere." The conditions are there to register a home win against VfL Wolfsburg tomorrow.
And the personnel situation has eased at Leverkusen. Lars and Sven Bender, not in the squad for the Gladbach game due to injury, are available for the opening home fixture. Charles Aránguiz was also able to take part in full training this week as he works hard on making his comeback after knee problems. As was the case last week, the 29-year-old Chilean could be in the squad again. That also applies to Lukas Hradecky – in a Bayer 04 kit for the first time. The Finland keeper has recovered from a jaw operation in the middle of July and is also ready to make his comeback. "As I said at the start of the week, Rambo Özcan will start. But Lukas will be on the bench for the first time tomorrow," confirmed Herrlich.
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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