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Xabi Alonso delivered the most important information from a Black and Red perspective right at the start of the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon: "Everybody has recovered well from the game, there are no injuries." His team secured a convincing 5-1 victory over Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday night. As usual, the ambitious Spaniard is now looking forward again: "The most important thing is for us to carry on in the same way. And that's what we want to do."
To maintain the focus each week primarily requires "consistency. We talk every day and give 100% every day. If you want to be successful then you can't afford to stand still."
The Werkself have only won one of the last five home games against SC Freiburg. "Freiburg are difficult to play against," said Alonso. The visitors from the Breisgau come to Leverkusen on the back of two wins in succession but will have to manage without Roland Sallai and Maximilian Philipp. The attacking duo at SCF were injured in the Europa League game against Backa Topola (3-1) on Thursday night.
Alonso has great respect for Freiburg's coach Christian Streich. The 41-year-old said regarding his fellow coach, who has been in charge at Freiburg since 2012: "We had a bit of a chat after the game in Freiburg last year. I can learn a thing or two from coaches like him."
The Werkself go into matchday eight as league leaders. Bayer 04 have won all games with the exception of the 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich. The situation at the top of the table is tight despite that. Only two points separate first and fourth spots. "It's great for the league that it's so exciting," said Alonso in response to a question. "Stuttgart are playing brilliantly and have a clear approach, Bayern are always there. Of course, there’s also Dortmund and Leipzig as well as Hoffenheim who are doing well behind them."
In recent days and weeks, a lot of events have been organised for the first district matchday at the weekend involving people from the Leverkusen district of Opladen. An early get-together at the Zwieback bar in Opladen on Sunday from eleven in the morning should provide the perfect start to a hopefully successful day of football at the BayArena.
The club will be present in different areas of Leverkusen over the coming months as part of the new Bayer 04 campaign of district matchdays. The game against Freiburg is one of six of these special matchdays this season
Bayer 04 ended the year with a 3-1 win away at RB Leipzig and will go into 2026 in third place in the Bundesliga table, leapfrogging their opponents, who had previously not dropped a point at the Red Bull Arena this season. Martin Terrier and Patrik Schick scored to turn around a first-half deficit before Montrell Culbreath rounded things off with a goal on his senior debut deep into added time. Ezequiel Fernández, Axel Tape and Lucas Vázquez also all returned from injury.
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Bayer 04 are away at RB Leipzig for their final fixture of 2025 in the Bundesliga on Saturday (kick-off: 18:30 CET). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 15 encounter at the Red Bull Arena.
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Despite a major personnel shake-up in the summer, RB Leipzig have performed impressively this term. Ahead of matchday 15, coach Ole Werner's team are second in the Bundesliga with a three-point lead over their upcoming opponents Bayer 04. This Saturday, 20 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET), the Werkself are away to RBL who are strong at home. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04's final game of the year at RB Leipzig on Saturday night, 20 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET), will also see Robert Andrich and David Raum go head-to-head. In an interview with bayer04.de and rbleipzig.com, the two team captains spoke about the importance of this match, their friendship and a WhatsApp group with Joshua Kimmich.
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