The fact SC Freiburg are close pursuers of RB Leipzig and the Werkself with two matchdays to go is no surprise to Gerardo Seoane. "We've known for several weeks that it will be a close race right to the end. Freiburg are very effective and on a good run." He believes it's a good idea to primarily look at your own games, your own performances and your own development. In concrete terms for the Swiss coach: "We’ve prepared very well for the Frankfurt game – physically and mentally."
The Werkself have trained intensively and with focus this week. "There was a good drive and intensity. That's why we gave the players another day off after two sessions on Friday," said the 43 year-old football coach. The team is very focused and motivated for the remaining three matchdays.
Looking at the table is not crucial for Seoane: "We should focus on what we can influence ourselves. We have to do our homework and first of all invest all our strength in the game against Frankfurt."
Seoane did recognise the performances of the Eagles in the Europa League: "Eintracht’s European performances have thrilled us all. It's good for German football if two German teams were to be in the final of this competition."
The 43-year-old coach describes the approach of the visitors as "physical and dynamic." The previous meeting with Eintracht revealed difficulties with their physicality and quick transition play. The Swiss coach is expecting the same for the match on Monday night in spite of the extra workload for Frankfurt: "I'm sure that Frankfurt always give 100 per cent. Of course, there are different mental strains in comparison to European competitions. But they have a big squad. Lots of fresh players are keen to play and they want to use the opportunity to show what they can do."
They are a team with lots of qualities according to the Werkself head coach who does believe he is well prepared for the penultimate home game of the season. "We are ready. And, of course, we have the means to cause Frankfurt problems."
In addition to the absence of long-term injured players Amine Adli, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, it is "highly doubtful" that Kerem Demirbay will play. The Werkself number 10 has only trained individually this week due to a toe injury and he was unable to train with the squad. "However, there is a small chance he will have less pain tomorrow morning and will be able to do a bit of work with the ball. But the chances are very low," said Seoane about the current fitness of the midfielder.
The Swiss coach found words of praise for Robert Andrich and Piero Hincapie. After the Werkself players were both suspended for the 4-1 away win against SpVgg Greuther Fürth, they are now fit and available the next encounter: "We’re happy that they're both back. They have always produced consistently good performances," said Seoane. "Their return gives us an extra strength in depth in the squad and therefore more options during the game."

In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
Show more
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
Show more
With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
Show more
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show more