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"Tomorrow is one of the most important games for us," declared coach Xabi Alonso at today's press conference when asked how he assesses the forthcoming clash with VfB Stuttgart. The 2010 World Cup winner is again demanding full concentration for this enormously important game: "We need a top level performance tomorrow. Stuttgart are a good team and they deserve to be higher up in the table. We'll have to be on the front foot and attack."
The idea is to build on the last two wins in the home game against Union Berlin (5-0) and the away derby at FC Köln (2-1) to be able to go into the World Cup break in positive mood: "It would be a very important win above all in relation to the table," declared Alonso.
Looking back at the derby in Cologne, the Spanish coach found words of praise particularly for the second half display: "Last week was very intense and the first half in the game against FC Köln was therefore lacking energy. But we showed our mentality in the second half and posed problems to the opponents. Our substitutions with Nadiem (Amiri, ed.), Amine (Adli, ed.) and Odi (Odilon Kossounou, ed.) gave us a good boost. We were able to see again how important each individual player is to us," explained the coach.
Sardar Azmoun and Florian Wirtz are still ruled out for the clash with VfB Stuttgart. The 19-year-old will however be on the #Bayer04USATour with the Werkself setting off immediately after the Stuttgart match. Alonso will also have to manage without Patrik Schick (groin) and Charles Aránguiz (calf) for the game against the Swabians. Daley Sinkgraven will be back in the squad after the Dutchman became a father again for the second time yesterday. Xabi Alonso also congratulated Jeremie Frimpong at the press conference on his call-up to the Netherlands World Cup squad. "I'm happy for him. He's earned this chance."
The BayArena has again sold out for the final competitive match of 2022. 30,210 fans will watch the game between the Werkself and VfB Stuttgart. That means the BayArena has been sold out for six of the last seven home games. The Werkself will again be looking to get a result against the Swabians and give fans another reason to celebrate before the start of the World Cup break.
In Germany, the temperatures are currently around zero, leaving even professional footballers freezing - but not the Bayer 04 Women. Roberto Pätzold's team have fled the cold to the south and are preparing for the second half of the season at a training camp in the Algarve, almost 2,000 kilometres away from home as the crow flies. The Leverkusen squad landed in Faro on Saturday morning and have already completed the first three training sessions over the weekend.
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It was a disappointing Saturday night. The Werkself lost 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart to start the new year on Bundesliga matchday 16 in 2025/26, a result that left both players and fans disappointed. "We played without any passion," said Alejandro Grimaldo honestly afterwards. Teammate Jarell Quansah was even more self-critical, emphasising: "We were miles off it in the first half. You can't put in a performance like that, especially in front of our own fans and I can only apologise to them, to be honest." Read on for the reaction, facts and stats from the clash with VfB Stuttgart in the Werkself review.
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Women’s team forward Paulina Bartz is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to play for Hamburg SV until the end of the season. The 20-year-old, whose contract runs to 2027, joins the Bundesliga newcomers on loan until the summer.
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Jarell Quansah and Alejandro Grimaldo speak to Werkself-TV following Bayer 04's 4-1 defeat to VfB Stuttgart on Bundesliga Matchday 16...
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