This will be the second competitive meeting of Sportfreunde Lotte and Bayer 04. The first encounter was last season in the first round of the DFB Cup. The Werkself clocked up a convincing 3-0 win with Stefan Kießling opening the scoring on 15 minutes. Hakan Calhanoglu (55') and Lars Bender (77') sealed the victory with two goals from the penalty spot.
Lotte knock out Werder Bremen
Sportfreunde Lotte face Bundesliga opposition for the fourth time in their fourth DFB Cup tie. After defeats against VFL Bochum in 2009 (0-1) and Bayer 04 in 2015 (0-3) the third tie against Werder Bremen produced the first victory (2-1).
Lotte ended last season in the Regional League West with a 15 point advantage over the Borussia Mönchengladbach second team. With 83 points Sportfreunde was the most successful regional League side in of Germany in 2015/16.
Since losing out under coach Robin Dutt to Dynamo Dresden in the first round of the cup in 2011/12 (a 4-3 defeat on penalties) the Werkself have reached the last 16 in the last four seasons.
Quarter-finals three times in succession
Bayer 04 have reached the quarter-finals in each of the past three seasons, thus equalling a club record. The last time the Werkself reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup three times on the bounce was between 1991/92 and 1993/94.
The last three seasons saw the Black and Red's go out at the quarter-final stage at home. On the road, Bayer 04 have always gone through in the last nine cup games – a current club record.
Will Chicha score again?
Chicharito Chicharito paved the way to the 2-1 first round success at Hauenstein with his opening goal. In 2015/16 the Mexican scored for cup goals – only Dortmund's Henrikh Mkhitaryan managed more (five goals).
Fernandez:"I would have preferred a different opponent"
Lotte goalkeeper Benedikt Fernandez is a good old friend in Leverkusen. Fernandez spent almost eleven years at Bayer 04 making six Bundesliga appearances for the Werkself. He was in goal for Lotte in last season's 3-0 defeat. "This match was extremely special for me. I recognised a lot of familiar faces after all those years. You can't beat that. That's why I would have preferred a different opponent this time as Bayer will not be an easy team to beat," said the 31 year-old in an interview with DFB.de.
More familiar faces
In addition to Fernandez, Gerrit Nauber, André Dej and Alexander Hettich are three other players at Sportfreunde who used to play for Bayer 04: André Dej, who played for Bayer 04 youth teams, provided the assist for Matthias Rahn to score the first goal in the 2-1 win against Werder Bremen in the first round. And on 54 minutes he netted the winner. Dej was involved in seven attempts on goal - the highest number on the pitch.
Lotte’s first-choice captain Gerrit Nauber moved from the VfL Osnabrück U17s to the Bayer 04 U17s in 2008 and he went on to play for the U19 side and the reserves. In July 2012 Nauber signed for Lotte. Alexander Hettich helped fire the Bayer 04 U19 team to victory over Bayern Munich in extra time in 2007 to win the German U19 title.
At the end of the winter training camp in Portugal, the Bayer 04 Women convincingly mastered their friendly ahead of the start of the second half of the season. In the match against Swiss league leaders Servette FCCF, coach Roberto Pätzold's team won 3-0 at the Monte Gordo Sports Complex. Carlotta Wamser (4’), Vanessa Fudalla (18’) and Loreen Bender (53’) scored for Bayer 04, who have been preparing for the Rückrunde in the Algarve since last Saturday.
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The German Football League (DFL) has rescheduled the postponed fixture at Hamburger SV on Bundesliga matchday 17. The match, due to be played on Tuesday, has now been rescheduled for Wednesday, 4 March (kick-off: 20:30 CET).
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The Rückrunde is about to begin: The Werkself travel to TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday, 17 January (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 18. At the pre-match press conference on Friday lunchtime, head coach Kasper Hjulmand emphasised the double anticipation for the clash following Tuesday's postponement of the fixture at Hamburger SV. And he also talked about the tactical approach against an opponent on course for Champions League qualification.
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TSG Hoffenheim have had a tremendous season so far and are in absolute top form going into the new year. After another outstanding display against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Wednesday, TSG went above Bayer 04 in the table. On Saturday, 17 January (kick-off: 15:30 CET), coach Christian Ilzer's team will be looking to continue their run in the league against the Werkself. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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In the first episode of the new interview series "A New Chapter", Werkself defender Jarell Quansah reflects on his first few months under the Cross and speaks about his journey from England to Leverkusen. Having come through the ranks at Liverpool, a new chapter began for Quansah in the summer at Bayer 04 — with new objectives, fresh challenges and much ambition. In the video, the centre-back speaks about his development as a player and person, about the courage to leave your own comfort zone, and about what it means for him to be part of an international team in a different country. Honest, reflective and full of motivation — just like the start of his Werkself career.
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