The 3,000 Werkself fans, travelling to the city on the Rhine for the Bundesliga game, face their shortest away trip in the current season – at least on paper: According to Sat Nav devices it is a 40-minute drive to the seventh-biggest city in Germany. Exactly 30.33 kilometres as the crow flies lies between the two stadiums of Bayer 04 and Fortuna, which was renamed the Merkur Spiel Arena in August. Only two venues are closer together in the Bundesliga this season (Düsseldorf – Mönchengladbach, approx. 26 km) and (Dortmund – Gelsenkirchen, approx. 28 km). No surprise there is a special electric feeling in the air. Also because of the heraldic animals of the two cities it can be called a battle of the lions...
The lion provides a leitmotiv. At least to a small degree. For a short period in the club's history, Düsseldorf was the home ground for the Werkself: In the second half of the 2008/09 season, the Werkself were forced to sue another ground due to construction work at the Bay Arena and that was the Düsseldorf Arena, back then called the LTU Arena. Memories of the time away from Leverkusen are hardly overwhelming – 17 points from 17 games was the return. The Werkself mascot Brian the Lion was also there. At this point, it is worth noting: Fortuna Düsseldorf are one of the few pro clubs not to have an official club mascot – perhaps with the exception of the Toten Hosen! ;-)
Joking apart. In spite of the short distance from each other, the Rhine clash between Leverkusen and Düsseldorf has been a rarity in the recent past: The last meeting of Fortuna and the Werkself was over five years ago (2012/13), the time before that was 15 years before that (1996/97). The reason is clear: The hosts went through a valley of tears in the 2000s including two seasons in the fourth division (2002/03 and 2003/04). Given 39 years in the Bundesliga in succession, it is perhaps it reason enough for Bayer 04 to mock the neighbours from the fashion city but definitely not to take them for granted. That is confirmed by the previous record in the top-flight where the Werkself just have their noses in front in the previous 28 encounters thanks to the two wins in the season Düsseldorf were relegated in 2012/13 (3-2 at home, 4-1 away) with 9 wins, 12 draws and 7 defeats.
In the last ten meetings in the Bundesliga, Fortuna have only picked up one win against the Rhine rivals – in August 1996, the Werkself lost 1-0 at the BayArena. The three Bayer 04 wins during that time go alongside six draws – there were four 1-1- scorelines and two goalless draws. A return that might suggest the Werkself may have to settle for 'just' one point tonight. On the other hand, there are good reasons to be hopeful of a first away win in the new season. The last defeat in Düsseldorf was over 28 years ago. Back then, in May 1990, Fortuna ran out 2-0 winners – also on a Wednesday. Fortuna Düsseldorf appear to be very much at home with midweek games in the Bundesliga: In their last ten league games on a Tuesday or Wednesday, Fortuna only lost one (1996; 0-4 in Dortmund), otherwise they picked up four wins and five draws. Not bad at all.
The stats definitely indicate an exciting encounter.And the fans at the arena in Düsseldorf will definitely welcome that – given the drop in temperatures this week have led the forecasters to predict 15 degrees at 18.30 CET. That will not have an effect on the assuredly warm welcome for Jonathan Tah. The Werkself number four played 23 games for Fortuna in 2014/15 when he was on loan from Hamburg SV and he still has a soft spot for the club as he revealed in an interview with f95.de. Moreover: Tonight's line-up for the hosts will most probably include a former Bayer 04 player on the pitch in goalkeeper Michael Rensing. The now 34-year-old made four appearances for Bayer 04 in 2013/14 – including the last Leverkusen victory in the fashion city. Talking of the fashion city: The Werkself will play all in black tonight against Fortuna side all in white.
Rhine jewel number 29 between Bayer 04 and Fortuna Düsseldorf will be refereed by Manuel Gräfe. The 45-year-old sports scientist from Berlin has refereed in Germany's top flight since 2004 – the two-time Referee of the Year has 241 Bundesliga games under his belt including 21 involving Bayer 04 (the last was a 2-1 home win against FC Köln in October 2017). The Werkself have won 12 of those games (plus four draws and five defeats)but there were also five red cards against Bayer 04. A new game, new luck. Manuel Gräfe will tonight be assisted by Florian Heft and Markus Sinn (assistants), Lasse Koslowski (fourth offficial) plus support from Dr. Felix Brych and his assistant Christian Dietz (VAR).
So far, so good. All Bayer 04 fans unable to be at the match are welcome to come to the Schwadbud: the fan pub in the East Stand at the BayArena is open as always for away games so fans can get together to support the lads. The doors open one hour before kick-off at 17.30 CET. Other options for following the Werkself from afar include club communication channels such as the live text commentary on bayer04.de and the acoustic alternative of the Werkself Radio. Other information and key moments in the 90 minutes are also available on our social media channels under the hashtag #F95B04. So here we go Black and Reds, time to fight and win and go ahead of Fortuna.
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