According to head coach Peter Bosz, the fitness of his players is of great significance looking at the forthcoming fixtures. "Energy is very important for the way we play. We need that energy to be successful at the end of the season. After the shutdown due to coronavirus, all teams are finding it difficult to get into a rhythm. That's true. But we're doing well on that front," said the Dutchman at the virtual pre-match press conference.
Behind closed doors at the Veltins Arena on Sunday night, the Werkself will be looking to build on the impressive performance in the DFB Cup semi-final at FC Saarbrücken (3-0). Schalke have not won in the Bundesliga since 17 January and have only picked up one point from five games since the Bundesliga restart. "It's difficult to say what we'll face. Schalke in the second half of the season are very different to the Schalke from the first half of the season," said Bosz, whose team were two points behind the Royal Blues at the winter break and are now 18 points ahead. "It's clear that confidence is lacking at the moment. But they have nothing much else to lose."
Bosz, who always focuses on his own team in the build up to a match, will have to manage with at least two players against Schalke 04: Skipper Lars Bender is still sidelined through injury. Karim Bellarabi is also ruled out for the away game at Schalke. The winger picked up a thigh injury in the cup semi-final on Tuesday. Bosz explained: "I haven't got a full diagnosis as yet. His thigh tightened in the cup game. In the moment, I can't say whether he will be able to play in the next three weeks."
In addition, Exequiel Palacios missed today's training session due to illness. Kai Havertz was back on the training ground with the squad this morning. "But we only did light training this morning. We have to be careful and I can't say anything definite about Kai," said Bosz about yesterday's birthday boy.
The race for a Champions League slot is in full swing. Before Bayer 04 kick-off in Gelsenkirchen, Champions League rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach play FC Bayern on Saturday night (kick-off:18.30 CET). "When you see a direct rival like Gladbach are playing away in Munich then that might offer the opportunity to go ahead of them. But there's no point at looking what they do if we don't beat Schalke," declared Bosz.
Match information:
Broadcasters: Sky and Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
Referee: The referee will be announced on the day of the game.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
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No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
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The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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