The Bayer 04 Women's team returned to Leverkusen last weekend after a narrow 1-0 defeat at league leaders Bayern Munich without any points but with plenty of confidence. And the team under head coach Achim Feifel are looking to take that energy into the next match against SC Sand. A win would give the Werkself Women 17 points – as many as in the whole of last season.
"We definitely had a bit of luck in Munich but we did play with a lot of confidence," the coach said looking back with satisfaction. On Sunday, his team face a completely different challenge, this time as favourites rather than as underdogs. "We have to produce something in attack and play focused and constructive attacking football. The defence has to be solid and with good pressing we will try to stop possible counter-attacks and offer the opponents as little room as possible."
The team that finished eighth last season, where Milena Nikolic and Viktoria Pinther used to play, are currently in tenth place in the league with six points and a goal difference of six goals for and 27 against. They have lost four games in succession including the recent match against Werder Bremen. Only one point separates the visitors from SV Meppen in the first relegation spot. Last weekend, the team coached by Nora Häuptle did manage to secure a win: In the second round of the DFB Cup, Sand won 4-1 against Regional League side SV Göttelborn to progress to the next round.
"We won't underestimate SC Sand. They have lost eight games in the league but one of the two wins was against a top team Eintracht Frankfurt. They have quality in turnover and attacking play and are dangerous down the wings," Feifel warned.
The coach almost has a full squad to choose from again. Melissa Friedrich, Lara Marti (both with muscle problems), Henrietta Csiszár (ankle) and Dora Zeller (knee) have recovered from their injuries and they returned to full training during the week. That means the only absentees are the long-term casualties Pauline Wimmer (torn cruciate) and Jessica Wich (broken ankle).
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 personal 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
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
Show more
Bayer 04’s eight opponents in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League have been confirmed. At the draw on Friday 28 August held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the Werkself were drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots. There are a total of four home and four away matches. Read on for details of opponents and fixture dates.
Show more
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-3 loss at SV 07 Elversberg on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
Show more
