The players who have travelled certainly have the quality required. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala, Gianluigi Buffon – they all landed with the rest of the squad at Cologne/Bonn Airport this afternoon. The German players Emre Can (not in Champions League) and Sami Khedira (injured) have stayed behind in Northern Italy. Also absent are Matthijs de Ligt, who has been rested, plus the injured Giorgio Chiellini, Aaron Ramsey, Douglas Costa as well as the former Bayern Munich player Mario Mandzukic who is ineligible.
Coach Sarri will only announce his line-up on the day of the match but the 60-year-old did make it clear at the pre-match press conference: “Of course, we have already qualified but I would still like to see a good performance from my team in this competition.” And midfield maestro Miralem Pjanic stressed at the press conference that the Juve players “have an absolute winning mentality and want to win every game.”
In response to questions about a possible fraught relationship between Sarri and the team, Pjanic had an answer ready. “We have full confidence in our new coach. After five years of Allegri (former coach Massimiliano Allegri, ed.) it’s clear not everything can work straightaway. You can’t expect perfection after five months of working together,” said the 29-year-old, who then talked about the opponents Bayer 04: “We’ve already played Leverkusen. They are a very strong team. They are at home and can still qualify – they will try everything. It won’t be easy for us.”
Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
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Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action this weekend. Following their elimination in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are away to FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 27. Ahead of the clash in the eastern Swabian Alps, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the fixture and the chances of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
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A quick look at the table shows the situation at FC Heidenheim is serious. The Bundesliga bottom club are already ten points behind the play-off spot with their backs to the wall in sporting terms. With eight games left to play, avoiding relegation appears to be a mission impossible. Nevertheless, they are far from flying the white flag at the Schlossberg ahead of the clash with the Werkself this Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.
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