The team led by head coach Achim Feifel have impressed against strong opponents in recent weeks. The 4-2 win against Turbine Potsdam provided a boost in confidence. And the Werkself Women stood up to the reigning champions of Germany VfL Wolfsburg last weekend and were on the verge of levelling at 1-1 but ended up losing 2-0.
The Black and Reds now face bottom club MSV Duisburg. The ‘Zebras’ are the only team in the league yet to win a game. With four draws from from 14 games, they are currently only three points behind eleventh-placed SC Sand, who they recently drew with in an intense encounter at the bottom end of the table. Feifel warned against underestimating the opponents: “The point gained against Sand shows MSV have not given up yet. The match will definitely not be a walk in the park. Duisburg will fight to the end, are very physical and have already shown they can score against top teams. At the end of the day, a tough opponent.”
On Sunday, the Bayer 04 coach is expecting “a completely different game than in Wolfsburg. MSV mainly stand out with their tough tackling and the mentality of the players. It will be a hard-fought game like the one earlier in the season.” Leverkusen won 2-0 in the previous meeting of the two teams. Another win against Duisburg could see the Werkself Women move back to being three points behind fourth-placed Turbine Potsdam – and draw away from direct rivals Freiburg and Frankfurt. “We only focus on the next opponents and obviously want to get a result to make the most of the season,” Feifel said.
After Jessica Wich and Nina Brüggemann returned to full training in recent weeks, Juliane Wirtz was back in trininbg this week after recovering from a groin injury. Bayer 04 will still have to manage without Viktoria Pinther (back problems) and the ball-winning Sylwia Matysik (back problems). That also applies to Henrietta Csiszár who has had problems with her knee since the Wolfsburg game.
The away game for the Werkself women at MSV Duisburg on Sunday is available as a livestream on the Bayer 04 YouTube channel. A lot of the other league games for the team coached by Achim Feifel this season will be broadcast over the coming weeks.
It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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