Ahead of the West clash, the primary aim for the Bayer 04 Women is to deal with the setback of last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Werder Bremen. “The effects of the game are still evident in our legs. I didn’t think we would have another game this season as difficult to get into as the one against Bremen,” admitted Achim Feifel, whose contract has been extended by three years this week. “We have to put everything into the final run-in that we can. The Bremen match was definitely not a walk in the park, quite the opposite: Teams threatened by relegation throw everything into the mix from mentality through to the will to win to stay in the league. We weren’t prepared for that in Bremen. We can expect the same against SV Meppen and SC Sand.” The coach wants to see “an appropriate reaction” to the recent defeat in Friday’s game against Essen.
Ahead of the clash, SGS Essen, in seventh place, are not too far behind the Werkself Women with a five-point deficit having played one game less. “Essen lost a lot of key players in the summer and they had to put a new team together but they have progressed well over the course of the season. They have young, hungry players who can counter attack quickly, a dangerous attack and a plan of how to play their games,” warned Feifel. “Therefore, I think it will be an open game.”
After a long injury lay-off, Sylwia Matysik will be able to make her comeback against Essen. There is a question mark over Henrietta Csiszár who returned from international duty with Hungary with an ankle problem. Definitely ruled out against SGS are Viktoria Pinther (back problem), Verena Wieder (knee), Lara Marti (calf) and Jessica Wich, who has suffered another knee injury.
For the third time in succession, the Bayer 04 Women’s home game on Friday will be broadcast live on Eurosport. The last two games ended in victory – “Perhaps, we have one or two players who might get a boost when the game is on TV. If that’s the case then hopefully it will work again on Friday,” said the Bayer 04 coach with a smile.
More on the game, the two squads, matchday information and an interview with Gianna Rackow are in the current Rasenreport. HERE is the e-paper.
A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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