After a good start to the season with ten points from six games resulting in fifth place in the table, the Werkself Women are looking to continue in that vein at Essen and further secure the position in the top of the table. Essen have not made a good start to the new term. Last season’s cup finalists have only won two games so far with all the other matches ending in defeat.
“Essen have a young team that can play good football, they want to have a go, are dynamic and also try to play on the front foot against good opponents,” said Achim Feifel. SGS went through a period of transition in the summer with twelve players coming and going. Among the departures were the four Germany internationals Marina Hegering, Lea Schüller, Lena Oberdorf and Turid Knaak plus Nina Brüggemann who signed for Leverkusen in the summer after five years playing for Essen. SGS Essen have opted to sign younger players and now have the youngest squad in the league on average.
“Our opponents are difficult to predict,” added Feifel, who is expecting a game on equal terms, “so we primarily want to look after our own game. We have to show our strengths on the pitch as we did against Frankfurt.”
After the double fixture week, the coach allowed his players chance to recover their strength ahead of the last match before the international break. The intensity of the sessions was varied for the players with the heaviest workloads – players who have had less time on the pitch were given more to do. On Thursday, everybody – with the exception of long-term injuries plus Sylwia Matysik (muscular problem) – returned to full training.
Due to the high infection rate in the city of Essen, Sunday’s game will be played behind closed doors. That conforms to the coronavirus prevention order issued by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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