After the two 2-1 wins before Christmas, the Bayer 04 Women were fifth in the table on 20 points and only five points behind third-placed TSG going into the winter break. The aim now is to defend that position in the ten remaining games in the second half of the season and reproduce the good performances from before the winter break. The first match in 2021 is against Hoffenheim who have won nine of their last ten games – including the match against the Werkself Women. The first meeting on matchday 8 ended in a 5-2 defeat for Leverkusen. Bayer 04 did take an early lead and only conceded the fourth goal on 90 minutes that sealed the outcome of the game.
That is not the only reason why the head coach Achim Feifel is confident ahead of the game. The build-up with friendlies against league rivals Werder Bremen (3-2) and second division Borussia Bocholt (7-0) proved to be a big success. A new striker has recently joined the squad: Fans and the team can look forward to new signing Mina Tanaka. “Mina has a work permit and everything else will be decided after the final pre-match training session,” explained Feifel regarding a possible debut for the Japan international who has joined the Werkself on loan to the end of the season from INAC Kobe Leonessabis.
To get a result at Hoffenheim, the Bayer 04 coach is expecting a courageous performance. “We have to be brave and have lots of confidence going into the game. It will be important for us to be switched on from the start and be aggressive in challenges. You can’t afford to let a top team like Hoffenheim have space or give them time to pass it around. We will try to make the most of our counter-attacks and cause them problems.”
TSG have the top goalscorer in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga in Nicole Billa. She has scored 14 goals so far this term. “We’ll try to defend collectively against the player and try to prevent passes getting to her,” said Feifel in setting out his plan. The Black and Reds will have to produce a top performance in the away game at Hoffenheim – “We’ll get our chances if we can stay in the game.”
Sandra Jessen, Nina Brüggemann, Viktoria Pinther, Pauline Machtens, Melissa Friedrich and Pauline Wimmer are all unavailable for Sunday’s game as is Jessica Wich, who is in rehab training following her broken ankle.
Werder Bremen have started the new season with back-to-back defeats, first being eliminated from the DFB Pokal by Arminia Bielefeld and then losing at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. And with injuries compounding that form, things are tense ahead of their first home game against the Werkself on Saturday (kick-off: 3.30pm CEST). Here’s the lowdown on Werder.
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A record stage for the Bayer 04 Women in Munich – and fans can get behind their team together in front of the TV. For the opening match in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga on Saturday, 6 September (kick-off: 17:45 CEST) the Werkself have organised a watch party at the Schwadbud. While the team led by coach Roberto Pätzold face Bayern Munich in front of 45,000 spectators at the Allianz Arena, supporters can also provide vocal support from back home. There will also be a star prize raffled amongst everyone taking part.
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The UEFA Champions League 2025/26 is on the way: Ahead of the draw in Monaco on Thursday night, 28 August, (18:00 CEST/live stream on ZDF, uefa.com, Sky Sports News and DAZN), bayer04.de brings the latest information on possible opponents, changes to the format, TV broadcasters and match dates.
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Exclusive insights into the Bayer 04 Women's training camp: Hard training sessions and ice baths, a karaoke team evening with Carlotta Wamser as Eminem, a friendly against VfL Wolfsburg and goalkeeper Charlotte Voll with her VLOG on the team day out to Regensburg. All that, up closer than ever before, is in the training camp recap from Rieden in Upper Bavaria.
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