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"We will face top opponents with a good coach and high individual and collective quality. The match in the Hinrunde was very intense and we are expecting another tough game," said Xabi Alonso at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. "We have to be flexible and act quickly to have the right approach to the different phases of the game," added the 43-year-old.
The Spaniard sees the strengths of the Frankfurt team in their tactical versatility: "They can play with a back three or a back four. In addition, they are very good in transition." The stats prove the latter: Eintracht Frankfurt are top in terms of goal scored in counter-attacks.
In response to a question on his first away game as Bayer 04 coach in October 2022, when the Werkself lost 5-1 in Frankfurt, Alonso said: "I've not forgotten the game but it’s not really relevant in preparing for tomorrow. A lot has happened since then and our development regarding the squad as well as the mentality of the team is very positive. The same goes for Frankfurt." The team from Hessen are having their best season in decades – 42 points after 23 games is only one less than the club record (1978/79 and 1989/90 with 43 points, calculated according to the three points for a win rule).
Alonso also highlighted: "The defeat for Frankfurt against Bayern (4-0 to FCB last Saturday, the first league defeat for Frankfurt in 2025, ed.) is not a reference point for tomorrow." And he added: "We will always give our all. There are no games where that isn't the case and we always field the best possible team."
Alonso will have to manage without defender Piero Hincapie against Eintracht Frankfurt. The Ecuadorian picked up his fifth yellow card last weekend in the game at newcomers Holstein Kiel (2-0, ed.). Edmond Tapsoba and Nordi Mukiele are one booking away from suspension with four yellow cards each. Otherwise Alonso announced there was "no new news" in terms of personnel.
The Werkself will have the support of 5,300 Bayer 04 fans at the Deutsche Bank Park with the whole allocation for the away section taken up. The top match will be broadcast live on Sky with Werkself Radio reporting as usual from 30 minutes before kick-off.
In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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The Werkself are finally back. On Saturday 8 August, Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign with their opening match. But there’s far more than just a double-header in store for Werkself supporters. True to the motto ‘One day. Two teams. One club’, the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium will be transformed into a world of excitement.
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The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...
After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
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Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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