#B04VfB – Stats ahead of the last top game of the season

Drivers beware

Ahead of the long weekend, fans planning to come by car can expect severe delays in the Rhineland. As previously announced by 'Straßen NRW', the A1 will be closed at the Köln Nord junction between the Köln West interchange and the Köln-Niehl junction in both directions from Friday night (27 April, 22.00 CET) through to Monday morning (30 April, 05.00 CET). The road closure is required for maintenance work on the Lövenich Tunnel. The link from the A3 from Oberhausen leading to the A1 (in the direction of Koblenz) is also closed. During the above-mentioned period there will be one lane open in both directions on the A1 junction Leverkusen-West and Köln-Niehl. Delays are also expected on the A3 between Solingen and Leverkusen-Opladen

ACCESS TO SHUTTLE BUS CAR PARK

There are also existing road closures due to roadworks in the area of Edith-Weyde Straße. Due to the construction of a new fire station, Leverkusen City Council advised avoiding Edith-Weyde-Straße on matchdays. Following the recent traffic chaos at the home game against Eintracht Frankfurt, the City Council have now closed Edith-Weyde-Straße and there is no access to the Willy Brandt Ring. Access is only possible via the B8.

TOBIAS WELZ - The man in the middle

Tonight's match will be refereed by Tobias Welz. The 40-year-old from Wiesbaden has refereed in the Bundesliga since 2010 (with a total of 84 top-flight matches) and he has officiated in international competitions since 2013. The police officer by trade, has refereed eight league matches involving the Werkself with the last one over 18 months ago (a 3-1 home win against HSV on 10 September 2016). Bayer 04 have only lost once under Welz (four wins, three draws) plus another defeat in the DFB Cup. Welz will be assisted by Rafael Foltyn and Dr. Martin Thomsen and Markus Schüller is the fourth official.

Reunion with Tayfun Korkut

The current Stuttgart coach Tayfun Korkut was in charge at Leverkusen a year ago. The 44-year-old was an interim coach from March to May 2017 with the Werkself in danger of going down. His record: Eleven points from eleven games and relegation avoided. Moreover, his record at VfB ranges from absolutely presentable to impressive: He has collected 22 points from 11 games and last weekend he secured top-flight status for Stuttgart after a long period at the wrong end of the table. No wonder Heiko Herrlich showed great respect to tonight's opponent at yesterday's press conference.

Twice seven

With the exception of the 6-2 defeat in the Cup against Bayern Munich, matches at the BayArena have been very successful recently: In the fixtures against Borussia Mönchengladbach (2-0), FC Augsburg (0-0), and Eintracht Frankfurt (4-1), the Werkself collected seven out of a possible nine points and conceded just one goal. And: The last three games in the first half of the season at Stuttgart (2-0), at home to Werder Bremen (1-0) and at Hannover 96 (4-4) brought a haul of seven points. 

RESpectable record

The Werkself have always played well against Stuttgart recently: Bayer 04 are unbeaten in 13 Bundesliga games against VfB Stuttgart (10 wins, three draws) – against all the current Bundesliga teams, the Werkself only have a longer unbeaten run against FC Augsburg (14 games). The Black and Reds have not clocked up as many wins against any other opponent as they have against VfB – 34 of the previous 75 league fixtures have ended in victory (19 draws, 22 defeats). And the goals haul is also worth a mention: The Werkself have only scored more often against Borussia Mönchengladbach (137) than they have against Stuttgart (130) – with at least one goal in each of the last 18 meetings (a total of 45 goals at 2.5 per game).

NEVER LOST TWICE IN SUCCESSION

Heiko Herrlich has been in charge of the Werkself 31 times in the league. His return from those games: 14 wins, nine draws, eight defeats. Under the 46-year-old, Bayer 04 have neither managed to win three Bundesliga games on the bounce or lose twice in succession – defeats have mostly been followed by picking up points with three on five occasions. So could tonight bring the sixth win after losing following the latest defeat at Dortmund?

LARS BENDER - a winner

Charles Aránguiz and Lucas Alario are both on four bookings and therefore in danger of suspension. The skipper Lars Bender has just served a one-match ban that kept him out of the Dortmund match. Lars Bender, who celebrated his 29th birthday along with his twin brother Sven on Friday, is available again. The value of the defensive all-rounder is shown by statistics in the kicker sports journal. With Lars Bender in the starting eleven, the Werkself have earned an average of 2.05 points per game and just 1.0 without him. So it's good news Heiko Herrlich can call on him again tonight. Moreover, the Werkself number eight scored his last Bundesliga goal with a header in a 2-0 win against VfB Stuttgart.

STEFAN KIESSLING on DOPPELPASS

15 years ago yesterday, Bayer 04 legend Stefan Kießling made his Bundesliga debut: On 26 April 2003, the Werkself number 11, then playing for FC Nürnberg, came on in the 80th minute in a 4-0 defeat at Hamburg SV. Since then he has made 400 Bundesliga appearances (342 for Bayer 04) with the top goalscorer of 2013 netting a total of 144 goals. The 34 year-old has found the back of the net 14 times in 21 games against VfB Stuttgart and Kies has not scored more goals against any other club. In two weeks time on the last matchday Stefan Kießling will end his playing career after 12 seasons at Bayer 04. The man from Franconia is sure to talk about that when he is the guest of Thomas Helmer on the football talk show Doppelpass on Sunday (29 April, 11.00 CET live on Sport1).

Extra time with Leon Bailey

It is now a tradition after Leverkusen Bundesliga home matches for famous guests to come to the Schwadbud after the final whistle to discuss events on the pitch in conversation with stadium announcer Tobias Ufer, fan liaison officer Rüdiger Vollborn or Frank Linde, plus a Werkself supporter. This time Leon Bailey is the guest at #W11Fantalk. If you have any questions for the Werkself number nine please submit them via Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #W11Fantalk. The round table discussion is broadcast live starting at around 21.15 CET.