After the Werkself suffered their first defeat under the new head coach away to Bayern Munich (0-2), Bayer 04 entertain Eintracht Frankfurt in the top match at the BayArena on Saturday night, 24 April (kick-off: 18.30 CEST). The Black and Reds face the second best team in the second half of the season.
After the 4-0 defeat for Eintracht away to Borussia Mönchengladbach on matchday 29, the Eagles were back on track in the week with a 2-0 home win against FC Augsburg and are now fourth in the Bundesliga with 56 points. In spite of the intensive fixture schedule of the past week, Hannes Wolf is determined to get a result on Saturday night before the two-week break: "The match against Frankfurt is now another turning point. It's the end of the week of fixtures and we definitely want to get results here in this home game. We've won the last two home matches, but we also know we are facing a good opponent. We have to make every effort to take all three points."
In spite of all the determination, the Werkself can expect "an exciting and interesting game," Wolf added, against an opponent who "definitely" wants to qualify for the Champions League. Looking at the Adi Hütter team on Saturday night, in addition to the dangerous attack around André Silva (24 goals) and Filip Kostic (12 assists) the Eintracht squad also has other qualities: "Frankfurt represent a type of football aimed at getting on the front foot. Of course, they also have players who bring a certain physical element and steeliness to the game. That's why it will definitely be a very intensive match where we will have to deliver the goods and come out on top in challenges," said the 40-year-old.
With the exception of the long-term absentees Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Julian Baumgartlinger and Santiago Arias plus the players in rehab training Lars Bender and Paulinho, head coach Hannes Wolf can call on his full squad for #B04SGE: "We had a few players who had physical reactions to the match against FC Bayern. But it's looking really good – everybody trained today."
Florian Wirtz, who missed the derby against FC Köln due to injury and was substituted at half-time in last Tuesday’s match against Bayern Munich, may be an option for the Bayer 04 head coach – although the 17-year-old is faced with a special challenge. The offensive player has his first A-level examination on Monday. However, Wolf does not believe that Flo is thinking more about the school than he is of the BayArena: "It's obviously important for Flo that he successfully completes his A-levels. We’ll make sure he has enough time to learn. But you have to say that he is in absolutely full-blooded football player. He always gives his all in training. And he is always really keen on the pitch and full of motivation. He not only possesses talent but also very good mentality."
Match information:
Broadcasters: Sky and Werks11 Radio
Referee: The match officials will be announced on the day of the game
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