Goals guaranteed: This will be the 65th meeting between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer 04 in Germany's top flight – and none of those games have ended goalless. The other equivalent fixtures in the history of the Bundesliga all include 0-0 draws. Leverkusen matches currently provide a reliable chance of seeing goals being scored: The Werkself have scored in all of the last 17 Bundesliga matches and that's by far the longest run in the league. The last time Bayer 04 had such a run of goals was from April to November 2005 (19 games). Frankfurt have also scored in their last ten matches.
The Werkself have won three out of their last four Bundesliga games against Frankfurt, only losing the away game 2-1 on matchday three of last term. Bayer 04 have scored in all of the last 16 away matches at Frankfurt (32 goals) since a 2-0 defeat in March 1995. The record at Frankfurt still favours Eintracht with 17 home wins, four draws and 11 victories for Leverkusen.
Frankfurt head coach Niko Kovac and his brother Robert (assistant coach) signed for Bayer 04 as players in the summer of 1996. Midfielder Niko stayed to 1999 making 77 Bundesliga appearances (eight goals) and central defender Robert played for the Werkself up to 2001 with a record of 127 appearances and one goal.
Both teams are currently on a decent run in the league: Bayer 04 are unbeaten in seven Bundesliga matches (three wins, four draws) and Eintracht in six (three wins, three draws).
After a very average start to the season with just one point from the first three matches, the Werkself are now well and truly on a run. 17 points from 12 games revives good memories at Bayer 04: In 2015/16 the Black and Reds finished third and qualified for the Champions League from the same starting point.
Kevin Volland has been involved in the scoring of a goal in all of the past four Bundesliga matches (three goals, one assist). His seven goals from 12 games is a better return than in the whole of last season (six goals in 23 games). Volland is currently the third highest goalscorer in the Bundesliga, level with Leipzig's Timo Werner and behind Lewandowski (Bayern/13) and Aubameyang (BVB/10).
Heiko Herrlich scored his first goal as a Bundesliga player against Frankfurt: on 24 November 1990, almost exactly 20 years ago, in a 2-2 draw between Bayer 04 and Frankfurt. The two coaches Niko Kovac (four wins) and Heiko Herrlich (three wins) faced each other seven times as players – in the last encounter in September 2000, Herrlich netted a brace, including the winner, for Dortmund in the 3-2 win against Hamburg SV with Niko Kovac in the HSV line-up.
Heiko Herrlich will be forced to make changes in defence for Saturday's game: Benjamin Henrichs is serving a one-match ban following his red card against Leipzig, left back Wendell also misses out after picking up a fifth yellow card. It remains to be seen whether Panos Retsos (illness) and defensive stalwart Sven Bender (broken ribs) will have recovered in time.
If Joel Pohjanpalo plays at Frankfurt, he will be on the opposing side from a familiar face: His fellow countryman Lukas Hradecky has played in goal for Eintracht since the summer of 2015. Pohjanpalo and Hradecky are both in the Finland team. Matchday eleven this season saw a Finnish player score against a Finnish keeper for the first time in the Bundesliga: Werder Bremen's Niklas Moisander put the ball past Hradecky in Frankfurt.
Fingers crossed with like-minded Werkself fans – nowhere is better than the Schwadbud. The popular fan pub in the East Stand at the BayArena opens its doors one hour before kick-off on Saturday at 14.30 CET.
After eight years in the youth set-up at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Benjamin Adam is leaving the club. The 35-year-old, who most recently coached the Leverkusen U17s, will take charge of the Hansa Rostock U19 team next season.
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There was a successful end to the women's internationals with Werkself players Carlotta Wamser and Cornelia Kramer qualifying for the 2027 World Cup finals in Brazil. A third Leverkusen player is still in with a chance of joining them. The Germany U23 players also experienced success in their last two international friendlies of the season.
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Traveling to North America for the World Cup this summer to see your favorite Bayer 04 players? Here’s a quick cheat sheet with thumbnail portraits and insider tips for each city from a local expert, so you can make the most of your visit and activities beyond the game!
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A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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