The Werkself discovered how difficult it is to beat Eintracht Frankfurt first hand in a 2-1 defeat just after New Year. But it was well known before that that they are a hard nut to crack this season. Frankfurt have only lost two of 15 games in the Bundesliga this season – as few as the leading trio of Bayern, Leipzig and Bayer 04. Their next win came on Saturday – Eintracht beat Mainz away 2-0 with penalties from centre forward André Silva in their third league win in succession. And it was a prestigious three points: Frankfurt picked up their first win in their seventeenth away game at the neighbours from Mainz. "It does you good to end a run like that," said coach Adi Hütter after the game. "The better team won when you look at the 90 minutes."
Eintracht Frankfurt will be in confident mood ahead of the second clash with the Werkself in nine days – and they have really felt at home in the DFB Cup in recent years. Frankfurt have made the semi-finals in three of the past four seasons and in 2018 they went on to lift the trophy in the final against FC Bayern. Eintracht had a tough draw in the first round match in this season's competition. Playing against 1860 Munich, a top team in the third division, the Eagles were unable to relax at any point in the game and ended up with a narrow 2-1 win with goals from Silva and the now departed Bas Dost (Club Brugge) – and now they face the Werkself. "We've got every chance and we’ll do everything we can to go through," announced Hütter.
The Austrian coach has to manage without one of his most important players. Filip Kostic was sent off in the quarter-final victory against Werder Bremen last year just before the suspension due to coronavirus for a foul on former Leverkusen player Ömer Toprak and he was suspended for four DFB Cup ties. That means he is unable to play on Tuesday. The vacant position on the left wing will probably be taken by Steven Zuber who arrived from Hoffenheim in the summer. In contrast to the Bundesliga meeting, Sebastian Rode is able to play again. The midfielder served a one-match ban.
The fact the DFB Cup draw has thrown up Eintracht as the opponents could be a good omen from a Werkself perspective. Many supporters will be able to remember the only previous DFB Cup game between the two teams: Bayer 04 won 3-0 in Frankfurt in the semi-finals in March 1993 thanks to a brace from Andreas Thom and a goal from Ulf Kirsten. The win paved the way to Berlin – and what happened there is well known: Bayer 04 won the DFB Cup for the first and only time to date. Nobody in the Black and Red camp will have anything against history repeating itself…
A cracker of a semi-final at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Bayer 04 U19 team entertain Bayern Munich on Saturday, 10 May (kick-off: 11:00 CEST/stadium opens: 10:00 CEST). In front of a home crowd, the team led by head coach Sergi Runge, who welcomes back an attacking player, is looking to build on the battling performances from the previous knockout games and "perform at the right moment." Tickets are available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the game will also be broadcast live on Sky.
Show moreGermany U17 head coach Marc Meister has called up three Bayer 04 youth players for the forthcoming UEFA U17 European Championship. The tournament involving eight teams runs from 19 May to 1 June in Albania.
Show more"We have mixed feelings overall today," said head coach Xabi Alonso after the 2-2 draw away to SC Freiburg. Bayer 04 were deservedly 2-0 down against the Champions League contenders up to the closing minutes but fought back with a double whammy from Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Tah to earn a point in the end. That maintains the run of unbeaten away games in the Bundesliga – the all-time record has been achieved! The Werkself review.
Show moreBayer 04 have now gone 33 Bundesliga away games in succession without defeat and thereby equalled the record set by Bayern Munich: Jonathan Tah netted the equaliser at 2-2 in added time away to SC Freiburg on his 400th appearance for the Werkself. SCF took a 2-0 lead with a strike from Maximilian Eggestein (44') and a Piero Hincapie own goal (48') before Florian Wirtz pulled a goal back on 82 minutes.
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