The Werkself have only won one of the last five Bundesliga matches against SC Freiburg (2-1 at home in May 2022) and last term they did not beat Freiburg in either league fixture (one draw, one defeat) for the first time since 2016/2017. Bayer 04 have not lost three games in succession against Freiburg in this millennium.
SCF have never won away to a top-of-the-table team (three draws, 21 defeats) – the last 15 visits to league leaders all ended in defeat and the draw came in April 2004 (1-1 at Werder Bremen).
The BayArena is again sold out for the home game against Freiburg. Every previous Bundesliga home game this term has seen all the tickets for the home sections taken up.
And Bayer 04 fans await a special home matchday as it is the first district matchday. This has involved numerous activities for the people from the Leverkusen district of Opladen over the past days and weeks. Today there is a morning get-together at the Zwieback bar in Opladen. Fans from Opladen can watch the clash with Freiburg together in Blocks A4 and A5.
The club will be present in different areas of Leverkusen over the coming months as part of the new Bayer 04 campaign of district matchdays. The game against Freiburg is one of six of these special matchdays this season.
Good news for all passengers on the ÖPNV network coming from Opladen, Cologne, Düsseldorf or wherever: Leverkusen Mitte station is back in action after a long period reconstruction. That will again make it easier for Bayer 04 fans to get to and from the stadium. Albeit the station is not accessible for everybody. Alternatively you can travel on S-Bahn 6 from Cologne/Düsseldorf to Chempark and then take a shuttle bus to the BayArena. All buses on this route take wheelchairs.
SC Freiburg also played their third group match in the Europa League on Thursday. And, like the Werkself, the team under coach Christian Streich also clocked up a win. SCF initially found it hard going in the 3-1 victory at Serbian club Backa Topola and they went into half-time a goal down. They upped their game after the restart. Above all thanks to Vincenzo Grifo. The German-Italian once again turned out to be the match winner with his hat-trick. But Streich was also happy with the performance of his whole team in the second half: "We have very good lads in terms of character who are able to be critical. I'm very happy we turned the game around." Further information on Freiburg can be found in our lowdown on the next opponents.
Anyone wanting to read key information before the game should take a look at the new Werkself Live. The matchday programme, offering the most important facts and stats on the game in compact form, is available at the BayArena. Alternatively it is available free online. Click HERE for the e-paper.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Daniel Siebert as the match referee. The 39-year-old has previously been in charge of 21 games involving the Werkself (eight wins, five draws, eight defeats). His assistants on the touchline are Jan Seidel and Lasse Koslowski and Benjamin Cortus is in action is the VAR.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at today's game. The audio broadcast begins 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Niko Hartmann and Cedric Pick. In addition, the live text update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
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Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action this weekend. Following their elimination in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are away to FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 27. Ahead of the clash in the eastern Swabian Alps, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the fixture and the chances of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
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A quick look at the table shows the situation at FC Heidenheim is serious. The Bundesliga bottom club are already ten points behind the play-off spot with their backs to the wall in sporting terms. With eight games left to play, avoiding relegation appears to be a mission impossible. Nevertheless, they are far from flying the white flag at the Schlossberg ahead of the clash with the Werkself this Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.
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