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“We are expecting a tough match with intense duels. It’s a very important game for both teams. We want to produce a good performance and show what we can do on the pitch,” said coach Alonso at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
The derby in Cologne is the first of five matches in 14 days. Alonso: “Now we are going into the next intense phase up to the international break. The players have deserved the last few days off and it gave them the chance to relax their minds and legs. We’ve trained well this week and are ready for Sunday.”
The Spaniard is aware of the special aspect of this derby: “Games like this are always special. You notice that in the warm-up and the songs the fans sing. There’s always a very special atmosphere at the derby. The rivalry is part of that but it belongs on the pitch.” Alonso added: “Our anticipation is great as is the respect for the match and FC Köln. We need to be fully focused, we need to play with our hearts but also with our heads on Sunday.”
FC Köln are currently in the play-off spot eight points behind VfL Bochum. In response to a question on the current tricky situation for the team from Cologne, Alonso said: “There are still lots of games and lots of points up for grabs. Anything can happen and not just for Köln but also for any team anywhere in the table.”
In addition, Alonso had positive team news for Sunday. The Spaniard said Exequiel Palacios will be back in the squad for the derby. “Pala feels really good, he’s trained well and is ready.” On Arthur and Victor Boniface, who are still sidelined, Alonso said: “They are currently working hard, ambitiously and professionally on their comebacks. Things are going in the right direction.”
Sunday’s derby will be broadcast live in Germany on DAZN and on Werkself Radio. The Werkself will again have strong support in Cologne: 5,000 Bayer 04 fans will get behind the Black and Reds at the game on Sunday.
In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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