The fact that Hoffenheim are still unbeaten this season and currently lie three points ahead of Bayer 04, "says a lot about their quality," as Roger Schmidt added: "TSG are clearly doing a lot right. They often choose the tactic of playing five at the back with a lot of disciplined and defensively oriented players ensuring stability. They are quick at switching play and invest a lot of energy. In addition, they have found a target player in Sandro Wagner who perfectly suits their game."
For Roger Schmidt that is no reason at all to divert from his own plans. "We want to carry on against Hoffenheim where we left off in the Champions League against Tottenham Hotspur: The key element is improving on the discrepancy between effort and reward. On top of all the attractive football we want to score goals and, above all, win. To do that we need to be very focused in front of goal and discover the fun of scoring."
In terms of personnel available for Saturday, Schmidt spoke about a number of question marks. Hakan Calhanoglu, who went off at half-time against Tottenham due to a back problem, is "still feeling pain. It's looking negative for him. I don't want to make a final decision a moment but it's not looking good." Captain Lars Bender, was after the UCL match, according to Schmidt "shattered. The day off will have done him good. We'll see on Friday how he's feeling." The same applies to Stefan Kießling who "played over 90 minutes for the first time in a long while. We'll have to wait and see how he's recovered." Striker Chicharito is suffering with a cold and he too is a doubt.
Info for the fans
With the exception of the visitors section, Bayer 04 are expecting a sell-out at the BayArena for the match against Hoffenheim. Ticket offices will be open on the day of the game. For the fourth time on Saturday, Werkself fans will also be able to enjoy highly reduced ticket prices and a wide range of events: Bayer 04 invites supporters to the home match against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for a family day, again presented by health partner pronova BKK.
A week after the disappointing DFB Pokal exit at Hamburger SV, the Bayer 04 Women return to league action. In a home match against SGS Essen on Saturday, 22 November (kick-off: 14:00 CET at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium), coach Roberto Pätzold's team will be fighting to maintain a good position in the chasing pack in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
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Tickets are on sale for the last two Bayer 04 Women's team home games in 2025. Fans can now purchase tickets for the matches at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium against RB Leipzig and the final fixture of the year in the Rückrunde opener against German champions Bayern Munich. The latest information at a glance.
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Eliminated ahead of the offline round: On Tuesday, 18 November, the Leverkusen console pros played the two remaining matches in the online preliminary round of showdown two. After picking up six points from the first four games last week, the #B04eSports team bagged another three in the two final duels - but it wasn't enough. The Leverkusen team missed out on a place in the offline knockout round, which will take place in this second showdown on 23 November in Frankfurt am Main.
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Several Bayer 04 players are currently away with their respective national teams in the final international break of 2025, with most of them involved in qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Our blog will keep you up to date on the matches involving the Werkself.
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The VBL Club Championship by WOW 2025/26 continues today, Tuesday 18 November, with the last two of the six online preliminary round matches in the second showdown. Starting at 18:00 CET, Bayer 04 face Karlsruher SC, followed by Borussia Mönchengladbach at 19:00 CET. The games will be streamed live on the Bayer 04 app and on the club Twitch channel. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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