The Werkself can draw level on points with the Europa League semi-finalists – And it is also probably the last chance to have a say in who progresses to the Champions League qualifying round next term. In contrast, Frankfurt head to the Rhineland knowing what needs to be done: A win (but also even a draw) would see the holders of the DFB Cup shake off a direct rival and put themselves in a very positive position ahead of the last two league games of the season. So there's everything to play for. A prestigious battle indeed. We can hardly wait. Here are 04 fascinating facts on #B04SGE. Hold tight!
Head coach Peter Bosz didn't want to talk about playing a 'final' but he did emphasise the "very important" nature of this match. The trends of the two teams could hardly be more different ahead of this clash: While Frankfurt, who drew 1-1 with Chelsea in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday, have not won in the league for three games (1-3 against Augsburg, 1-1 in Wolfsburg and 0-0 against Hertha BSC), the Werkself have picked up nine points Against VfB Stuttgart, FC Nürnberg and FC Augsburg and only conceded one goal along the way – the best return in the league over this time. Last weekend saw the Black and Reds secure victory for the second time this season after going behind – the previous time was in the 3-1 win against FC Bayern.
With the win at Augsburg, the Black and Reds picked up points 25, 26 and 27 in the second half of the season, which sees them exceed the points collected in the first half of the season (24). Only FC Bayern (35) and RB Leipzig (33) have been more successful in 2019 – just ahead of the Werkself, Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund on 27 points each. Frankfurt have been particularly strong away from home: The team from Hessen are unbeaten on the road this year with three wins and four draws in those away games. However: The last win at the BayArena was quite a while ago back in December 2013 (0-1) – and the last three of these fixtures at Bismarckstraße have ended in wins for the Black and Reds.
Jonathan Tah scored his 04th Bundesliga goal at Augsburg (in a total of 122 appearances). In this campaign, the Werkself number four has found the back of the net three times with goals also in the home and away matches against Borussia Dortmund. The 23-year-old has scored all his goals from set pieces. Talking of which. six of the last eleven goals for the Werkself have come from set pieces (two from free kicks, two from corners and two penalties). In total, the Bosz Boys have scored ten times from set plays this year - the highest number in the league.
This season, Kai Havertz, Kevin Volland and Julian Brandt have formed a magic triangle with the Werkself. 33 of the 57 goals scored in this campaign are down to the three players who have all set personal bests this term. While Kevin Volland (14 goals, 10 assists) is second just behind Dortmund's Marco Reus (16/11), Julian Brandt (5/13) has been involved in 12 goals (four goals, eight assists) – no other player in the Bundesliga has set up team-mates as often in 2019. And Kai Havertz? The Werkself number 29 (14/4) has scored in three of the last four league games with a total of 04 goals. Also nice to know: With all of his eight goals in the second half of the season he has put the Werkself in front. In that sense: Here's to another magical night at the BayArena!!
Match information:
Previous result: 1-2 (A)
Referee: Robert Hartmann (Wangen)
Weather forecast: 12 degrees, partly cloudy
Live on TV at: Sky
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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