A look at the stats from a Black and Red perspective is encouraging: The Werkself have beaten Eintracht Frankfurt eight times in succession across all competitions – the longest run of home wins against a current Bundesliga club. The two teams are not giving anything away in this Bundesliga campaign. Eintracht are just ahead of the Werkself in sixth place with 41 points and Bayer 04 are seventh waiting to pounce with one point less.
The Werkself will go above Eintracht with a home win. The team under head coach Xabi Alonso would move up to sixth place with a seventh win on the bounce – Bayer 04 have not been that high up the table so far this season.
After a run of seven games without a win, Eintracht Frankfurt won again on Tuesday in the 2-0 victory in the DFB Cup quarter-final against Union Berlin. The team from Hessen produced a very convincing performance for much of the game. "We played brilliantly in the first half and the lads produced a great display overall," said head coach Oliver Glasner. Further information on Eintracht's squad, performers and problems is available in our lowdown on the next opponents.
Bayer 04 requests everybody to arrive at the BayArena in good time to allow fans to get to their seats in time for kick-off and to avoid long queues at the turnstiles.
Anyone wanting to read key facts about the match against Eintracht Frankfurt before the game should take a look at the new Werkself LIVE. The matchday magazine is available at the BayArena and the digital version is also available free of charge online. HERE is the e-paper.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Robert Hartmann as the match referee foot today's game. The 43-year-old match official has previously been in charge of 17 games involving the Werkself. His assistant referees are Christian Leicher and Dr. Arne Aarnink with Günter Perl in action as the VAR official.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at today's game. The audio broadcast begins 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Cedric Pick und Niko Hartmann. In addition, the live text update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text updates can be found at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app – tune in.
Werkself player Karim Bellarabi today celebrates his 33rd birthday – many happy returns. Bellarabi joined Bayer 04 in the summer of 2011 and he played his first game for the Black and Reds in the derby against FC Köln on 17 September that year. Since then the Berlin-born forward, now the longest-serving Werkself player, has made 213 Bundesliga appearances for Bayer 04. The winger has scored 34 goals and provided 48 assists in those matches.
Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
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Another showdown in the race for the Champions League places takes place in Swabia: on Saturday 9 May (kick-off 15:30 CEST), the Werkself visit VfB Stuttgart, who are only behind on goal difference. In his pre-match press conference, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about confidence, excitement and mentality.
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Reinforcement in attack: Bayer 04 Leverkusen have secured the transfer of striker Maja Sternad from Bundesliga rivals SV Werder Bremen. The 22-year-old has signed a contract until 30 June 2028.
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It's a thrilling situation: as the season draws to a close, Stuttgart and Bayer 04 are heading into the home stretch almost neck and neck. After 32 games, with 17 wins, seven draws and eight defeats each, both teams are on 58 points. Even in terms of goals scored, VfB and the Werkself are level on 66. The Black and Reds have conceded just three fewer goals (43) than their rivals (46), which is why they sit one place behind fourth-placed Leverkusen. This Saturday, 9 May (kick-off: 15.30 CEST), the two teams go head to head at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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