For starters: The Werkself have not clocked up more wins in the Bundesliga than against VfB Stuttgart – in 76 meetings, the Black and Reds have ended up taking all three points. The Werkself are not particularly hospitable in home games against the Swabians – The visitors left empty-handed on 18 occasions with only Gladbach (20) and Hamburg (19) heading home more often without any points. And also for this match: Sorry, dear Stuttgart fans – even if it is the 125th anniversary your club, we have an urgent need to take all three points!
That's right. There's a score to settle: Last season, the Werkself suffered an annoying and unnecessary 1-0 defeat at home to VfB on matchday 32. That did not reflect the course of the game but it did bring the first Stuttgart win in the last 13 league fixtures (three draws, 10 defeats from the visitors perspective). The 1-0 reverse was also only the second time since 1998 that the Werkself failed to score against the Swabians at home. Otherwise, the White and Reds are a good bet for goal celebrations – the Werkself have only scored more often in the league against Gladbach (137) than against VfB (130). In the previous 18 league fixtures before the April game, the ball was in the back of the Stuttgart net 45 times (around 2.5 goals per game). So why not carry on as we did before last spring?
Or more exactly formulated: Lukas Hradecky has been busy at the back. 24 goals have been conceded in the first third of the season with eight coming in the past three Bundesliga matches. That is too much for the generous Finn. And it is little consolation that VfB Stuttgart have also let in 24 goals so far. But at least that is a sign that they are susceptible in front of their own goal. NB: The Werkself have kept 25 clean sheets against VfB in the league. Let's have an encore tomorrow! Again, not conceding would also represent a big black and red ribbon on a present for our number one who is 28 today. Fingers crossed, that would make a great contribution to his birthday weekend.
Friday also brings another refereeing debut for the Black and Reds. Following the game against Leipzig where Martin Petersen was in charge of his first league game involving the Werkself, the opening game on matchday 12 has Robert Schröder as referee. It is the first competitive Bayer 04 game for the 33 year-old as well. His 04th Bundesliga fixture brings him to the BayArena. The match official from Hannover will be assisted by Norbert Grudzinski and Sascha Thielert. Thorben Siewer is the fourth official.
A quick note for anyone wanting to make a spur of the moment decision: Tickets are still available for the game. Otherwise the match is only available on the Pay-TV channel Eurosport. As with every game, there is the official live text commentary in German at bayer04.de and on our smart phone apps for those on the road. And the stadium atmosphere including commentary is also available on Werkself Radio (also in German). The official Bayer 04 social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat) also provide updates before, during and after the game.
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…
Show moreTo all Bayer 04 fans: The Fanwelt will be closed all day next Monday 30 June. This is due to preparations for the change of kit supplier from Castore to New Balance on Tuesday 1 July.
Show moreThe Norway U23 international Julie Jorde has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Brøndby IF. The twelve-time champions of Denmark have signed the midfielder on permanent terms after her loan move from the Bundesliga to Denmark in the winter.
Show moreIt is almost two years since Bayer 04 new signing Abdoulaye Faye first stepped foot into the BayArena as a player for the Swedish club BK Häcken in the opening match in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign. A day before his nineteenth birthday, the central defender did not play in the 4-0 win for the Werkself but it was "an incredible night" for him on 21 September 2023 as he explained in his first interview on bayer04.de. "I watched the players and saw the fans. I liked it." It was also the first European night early on in his career. He only joined the then champions of Sweden in the cold north of Europe from his home in Senegal a few weeks before that special moment. Bayer04.de profiles our new defender.
Show moreWelcome, Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old Senegalese central defender joins Leverkusen from top-flight Swedish club BK Häcken. In his first interview he talks about his move to Bayer 04 and his targets with the Werkself.
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