#B04H96 – Facts and stats against favourite opponent

Hello, Hannover!

On paper, the team from Lower Saxony are incredibly attractive opponents. And definitely are very welcome visitors at the BayArena. The Werkself are unbeaten in nine league games against Hannover 96 (seven wins, two draws). And, in the last ten encounters on Bismarckstraße, the Black and Reds have run out winners every time (including eight games without conceding). And with a goal difference of 27 for and three against – making an average of three goals per game to inspire hope for goals on Saturday. On top of that, there is also a club record on the cards. Another home win against Hannover would top the run against MSV Duisburg (1982 to 2007). (Hann-)Over and out!

Here we go-oooo…

…Rockin‘ all over the world! As mentioned above, the match against the Lower Saxons should bring goals for the Werkself with the accompanying  music at the BayArena. The visitors have conceded at least one goal in all of their last 20 matches on the road – and they have been waiting for an away win in the Bundesliga for 16 games (five draws, eleven defeats). What else points to a victory for the Werkself? Hannover coach André Breitenreiter has met Bayer 04 six times in his managerial career – But he has yet to win. And, as a player, H96 general manager Horst Heldt did not lose more often against any other team than against the Bayer 04 boys. No surprise that Breitenreiter and Heldt are determined to "change the running order" –  at the pre-match press conference on Thursday they both wore hoodies for a change. Perhaps anoraks would have been better  as it's easy to get soaked in hoodies.

Safe hands Hradecky

There is reason to be cautious. Ahead of the international break, Hannover impressed with a surprise 3-1 home win against fellow Bundesliga newcomers VfB Stuttgart – it was the first win of the season and it moved them off bottom spot. And now – ahead of the Bayer 04 hurdle  – they have one more goal than the Werkself who have two more points. The Black, White and Greens want to carry on where they left off. But Lukas Hradecky, Wendell and Tin Jedvaj have the same intention: All three have a 100 per cent win record against the team from Lower Saxony (in their previous 04 meetings). Fingers crossed that it carries on. And stick at it like Lukas Hradecky. "We all have to think we are Leverkusen and go into games with the conviction that will win if we do everything right. That attitude, if it's not too arrogant, is key," said the Werkself number one in an interview with kicker.

Bellarabi ’s back

Just in time for the second busy run of fixtures, the Werkself squad is gradually getting back up to full strength. Karim Bellarabi is available again after his three-match ban and may play against Hannover – it could be his 170th appearance for the Werkself. Panos Retsos has also recovered from his thigh injury and he returned to full training this week. "In the last two or three days he has played in all the practice matches. But I think  it's too soon to include him in the squad tomorrow," said Heiko Herrlich at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon ruling out a comeback. The Werkself head coach will be in the dugout for the 50th time on Saturday – and he could clock up his 25th win. Do it, Heiko!

Centurions club

A milestone is round the corner: Jonathan Tah has played 99 games in the Bundesliga and could complete his century against Hannover. He has made 83 appearances for the Werkself and 16 for Hamburg SV. At this point: It is always worth remembering the central defender has only picked up four yellow cards and has never been sent off. Hats off to you Jona! We are ready to applaud your century.

Ittrich an der Pfeife

The referee for the match against Hannover 96 is Patrick Ittrich. For the 39-year-old match official from Hamburg, who has refereed 28 Bundesliga games to date, it will be the fourth involving Bayer 04. The previous three were all played last season in the league with an absolutely equal outcome from a Werkself perspective; with every possible result. On Saturday, the police officer will be supported by the two assistant referees Norbert Grudzinski and Sascha Thielert plus fourth official Thorben Sieger. The VAR referees in the Cologne studios are Sven Jablonski and Christian Dietz.

Traffic report for road and rail

Heavy traffic is expected for fans travelling to the Hannover game. As a result of bridge maintenance, Autobahn 1 at the Leverkusen intersection is completely closed in both directions at the weekend (from Friday night to Monday morning). The roads from the A1 to the A59 in the direction of the Rheinallee and Düsseldorf are not closed. Nevertheless, congestion can be expected in the approach roads  to the motorway intersection; the state roads organisation 'Straßen.NRW' recommends avoiding this area. Fans travelling by train (S6) may also be subject to delays. Due to work on the tracks between Düsseldorf main station and Langenfeld, most of the S-Bahn trains will be replaced by buses (also there will be no stopping in Düsseldorf-Garath); according to the Deutsche Bahn delays of 30 to 60 minutes are expected. We recommend using the free shuttle bus car park at Kurtekotten – match tickets (excluding print@home tickets) are also valid as tickets on public transport in the Rhein-Sieg and Rhein-Ruhr travel areas. Bayer 04 wish everybody a trouble-free journey.

#B04H96 On FACEBOOK And CO.

Tickets are still available for the home game against Hannover 96. Anybody unable to be at the game can follow action via the official live text commentary and the Werkself Radio (in German) available at bayer04.de or the Bayer 04 app. All the important information and events at #B04H96 are also available by the official Bayer 04 social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. After the game, Paulinho will be taking part in the #W11Fantalk at the Schwadbud – from around 18.00 CET live on Facebook and bayer04.de. So here we go – Come on the Black and Reds!