Nearly four months ago on the penultimate matchday of last season, the Bayer 04 Women and FC Köln faced each other in a relegation battle in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga. The Black and Reds won the game 3-1– and thereby secured top-flight status while the team from Cologne were relegated to the second division after finishing level on points but with a worse goal difference
“Köln will be particularly motivated against us, ” declared Bayer 04 head coach Achim Feifel. But the same applies to his team. “We will need to be highly aggressive but we also need to keep a clear head at the same time and assert control.” In the recent Bundesliga matches against Eintracht Frankfurt, Werder Bremen and Essen, his players produced impressive team performance and now it’s about building on it: “We want to play our own game and we need lots of periods of possession and efficiency – we have to use our attacking strength,” the coach explained. He believes FC Köln will try to draw his players “into tackles and look to pose a threat with quick counter-attacks. It will be a tough fight!”
Köln – unbeaten with maximum points so far this term – brought in some big-name players before the season to strengthen the squad. “They have a strong squad. You can’t let yourself be misled by the league they’re in. FC are not a typical second division team,” warned Feifel. In addition to Mandy Islacker (from Bayern Munich), Lena Lotzen (SC Freiburg) and goalkeeper Manon Klett (SC Sand), former Leverkusen players Sharon Beck and Marith Müller-Prießen have also joined the team. From the Leverkusen perspective, there is a reunion with former teammates: Juliane Wirtz and Ann-Kathrin Vinken used to play for FC Köln.
The Leverkusen head coach is considering rotating his starting eleven and his squad following the international break: “Everybody who has been here, has trained very well in the past few days. The decision of who plays in the Cup tie will be difficult.” The international players have come back fit and well and in Leverkusen several players have returned to full training after knocks having had time off during the international break – as did Sylwia Matysik this week after a muscle injury but she is not an option for the derby exactly like Henrietta Csiszar (knee) and Sofie Zdebel (muscular problem) who are both in rehab training. Also absent are long-term injuries Pauline Wimmer (torn cruciate) and Joyce Prabel (muscle injury) plus reserve keeper Anna Wellmann. She tore a ligament in her finger during training and had to undergo an operation.
After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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Newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg will begin the 2026/27 season as Bundesliga club number 59. The Saarland club start their first Bundesliga campaign at home to the Werkself on Saturday, 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST) at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, which is currently being rebuilt. For one Leverkusen player in the ‘Elv’ line-up, the clash will be a special reunion. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Ernest Poku is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to play in the Turkish Süper Lig. The club has loaned the Dutch winger to Beşiktaş for one year. If certain criteria are met, the Istanbul club – who finished fourth in the Turkish top flight last season – will be obliged to make the move permanent.
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