black and red calculations
The following scenarios are possible for Heiko Herrlich's team to qualify for the Champions League: 1.) The Werkself beat Hannover while Hoffenheim lose or draw at home to Borussia Dortmund. 2.) If Hoffenheim lose to BVB then the Werkself only need to draw on Saturday to finish in fourth place. 3.) With a 5-0 victory (or higher) than the Werkself would definitely qualify for Europe's premier club competition – without the need for a calculator as the result of the match in the Sinsheim would be irrelevant. 4.) In the event of a defeat to Hannover, the Werkself would have to hope Hoffenheim lose by five or more goals, Leipzig fail to win at Hertha Berlin and seven-placed Eintracht Frankfurt don't make up the 12 goal deficit away to Schalke 04. As the final element is so unlikely then Bayer 04 should at least be in the Europa League next season.
finish on a high
Over recent days,Heiko Herrlich has continued to insist that the Werkself have to focus on their own performance levels in the game against Hannover 96. A win is the clear objective to finish the season successfully. And a look at the record books suggests three points for Leverkusen are not that unlikely. The black and red record in the final game of the season is very decent. In this millennium, Bayer 04 have only lost once on the final matchday – and that was ten years ago. The other matches at this point in the campaign have produced 13 wins and four draws.
HEllo Hannover
And this time round a positive end to the season looks likely against our opponents Hannover 96. With all respect, the team from Lower Saxony could easily avoid making the away trip to Leverkusen: None of the last nine Bundesliga matches away to the Werkself have ended in a win for Hannover 96 and they only scored two goals along the way – the Werkself do not have a similar high number of victories (82.4%) against any other side currently in the Bundesliga. And the overall record in the league does not read well for Hannover: Only five of the previous 35 meetings have gone in favour of Hannover – the Lower Saxons do not have a lower success rate against any other side they played at least nine times in the Bundesliga as they do against Bayer 04. And recent away performances have definitely not been anything to shout about: The newcomers to the top flight this season have not won any of the last eleven away games (four draws, seven defeats).
end of goal drought in sight
Since the 6-2 defeat to Bayern in the DFB Cup semi-finals, the Werkself has struggled to score – in spite of having plenty of chances at times, Bayer 04 have not found the back of the net in the last three games. Equally, the Herrlich team have often enough shown they are capable of scoring this season. And, in Hannover 96, the team visiting the BayArena this weekend have conceded at least one goal in all of the past 18 Bundesliga fixtures. So, time for the Werkself to fire at will. Hopefully,the final game of the season should be a cracker.
Winkmann the man in the middle
Guido Winkmann is the referee for the final Bundesliga game of the season for the Werkself. The 44-year-old match official has refereed in the Bundesliga since 2008, taking charge of 123 fixtures in Germany's top flight – including 14 involving Bayer 04. The black and red record in those games: 10 wins, 3 draws, 1 defeat (22 yellow cards but no reds for Bayer 04). This season, the man born in Kerken has refereed one game involving the Herrlich team; the 1-1 draw away to Schalke on matchday seven. Winkmann will be assisted on Saturday by Christian Bandurski and Arno Blos with Patrick Alt the fourth official at BayArena tomorrow.
Bellarabi and Kohr on verge of milestones
Four Werkself pros are on the verge of smaller or greater black and red milestones on Bundesliga matchday 34: Panos Retsos could make his 25th Bundesliga appearance, Sven Bender his 30th Bundesliga appearance for the Werkself, for Tin Jedvaj it would be 65 league games in a total of 80 competitive matches for Bayer 04 and Charles Aranguiz is set to play Bundesliga match number 60 for the Black and Reds. Karim Bellarabi is also about to celebrate an achievement with an outing against the team from Lower Saxony being his 150th Bundesliga match (to date 123 for Bayer 04, 26. Eintracht Braunschweig), Dominik Kohr has experience 49 victories in the Bundesliga so far and another tomorrow would complete the half-century.
GoodBye, you three!
When the Bundesliga season ends early on Saturday evening it will be the end of Stefan Kießling's career as a player. Up to the Hannover 96 game on Saturday, Kies has played 443 competitive games (including 343 in the Bundesliga) in 12 years at Bayer 04, scoring 162 goals (131 in the Bundesliga) – no other player has scored as many goals in the Bundesliga. Not just because of his achievements on the pitch, the 34-year-old enjoys the status as a legend under the Bayer cross so it will be emotional both with the official farewell before the game (and, of course, after the final whistle). In addition to the Werkself number 11, the club bosses will also say farewell to Vladlen Yurchenko (at the club since 2014:18 appearances, three goals) and Marlon Frey (at the club since 2015: 12 appearances) – as their contracts have run out and will not be extended
#DankeKies
Back to Kies! Even in the event of qualifying for the Champions League on Saturday afternoon, there may well be one or two tears at the BayArena. For anybody who finds it difficult to manage their emotions, we have set up a hashtag #DankeKies where we can gather your contributions. In addition, the club has created the opportunity to have a typically Kies photo taken as a memory. The club stall on the east side of the BayArena will have a photo booth where you can have your picture taken. All the photos will bear the words 'Our number 11, Kies'. Enjoy the surprise!
