Three Black and Red players are unavailable for this clash. Karim Bellarabi and captain Lars Bender are back on the pitch after injury but are not yet involved in full training. Central striker Lucas Alario also misses the match with his yellow card at Schalke leading to a one-match ban.
"If no more babies are born tonight then everybody else should be available for the squad," said head coach Peter Bosz with a smile at today's pre-match press conference. The Dutchman was making reference the birth of Leon Bailey’s son Leo on Sunday morning that led to his dropping out of the game at Schalke 04 late on
With three games to play, the late point in Gelsenkirchen means the Werkself hold all the aces in the battle to qualify for Europe's elite club competition. "But to keep it in our hands we have to win three times – and that starts tomorrow against Köln," declared Bosz.
To come out on top in the game against the Goats, the head coach believes it needs a "top performance". The 56-year-old added: "We have to be on top of our game – regardless of whether it's a home or away match – and whether fans are there or not. I'm completely confident we can achieve that tomorrow."
FC Köln have not won a single match since the Bundesliga restart and lost 2-1 last time out against Union Berlin. "The fact Köln have not won after the break due to the coronavirus pandemic is not important. The same applies to Schalke 04 and we all saw what happened in the end," warned Bosz, who also made it clear: "Of course, it's also about making amends for us: It's a derby – that's very important for our fans and for us too. We lost the game earlier in the season because we were poor. We have to be better tomorrow. It all depends on us."
Match information:
Broadcasters: Sky and Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
Referee: The referee will be announced on the day of the game
High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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Sofie Zdebel is up for the Goal of the Month award for February on ARD-Sportschau. Fans have until 21 March (19:00 CET) to vote for the Germany U23 international's volley to make it 2-0 in the Bayer 04 Women's derby against FC Köln (2-1).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are further expanding their partner network: The feed manufacturer PerNaturam is an official sponsor of the Bayer 04 Womens team. The partnership opens up a wide range of opportunities for the company to position its brand in the Bundesliga environment.
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Do you dream of wearing the Bayer cross on your chest? To play in black and red like your role models Loreen Bender, Cornelia Kramer, Kristin Kögel and co. from the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga? Then take your chance now! Our female youth teams are once again on the lookout for new talent. That's why Bayer 04 are organising a talent day on 12 April 2026 for the first time this year with trials for female juniors.
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