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"The position in the table is irrelevant to us. Anything is possible in football," said Alonso at the start of the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The Spaniard sees Darmstadt as a team who "play with passion, fighting spirit and good motivation." Alonso will prepare his team for an intense encounter: "We have to control this emotional part of the game well. I've played at that stadium. There's always a good atmosphere there. Darmstadt are currently fighting very hard to avoid relegation. I have great respect for the coach and the spirit of the team."
The Werkself, who will complete the final pre-match training session on Friday afternoon, will then set off for Darmstadt. For the match against the Lilies, Alonso will again be able to call on Edmond Tapsoba and Amine Adli who have returned from the Africa Cup of Nations. Both went out of AFCON this week at the Round of 16 stage and they were back in Leverkusen on Thursday. The Spaniard refused to say whether the two Werkself players would feature against Darmstadt: "They've come back in good shape and are fit. They know situations like this. They will train with us again for the first time. For us it's really great to have more options again."
Alonso also kept his cards close to his chest with regard to other players who might find a place in the starting line-up. The head coach said of the winter signing Borja Iglesias: "He is fit and a good player with brilliant motivation. That's very important to us." On Granit Xhaka , who is currently on four yellow cards, Alonso said: “We'll see if he plays. We definitely have enough players to make that decision. Everybody's well prepared."
Alonso will have to manage without Odilon Kossounou, who is still at AFCON, plus the injured players Victor Boniface, Arthur and Exequiel Palacios. In response to a question about the fitness of the Argentinian World Cup winner, Alonso said: "He's doing better. We are hoping for a quick recovery but we want to take it at the right pace and not be too hasty. We will watch his progress day by day. We remain positive."
1,700 Bayer 04 fans will support the Werkself in Darmstadt. The allocation has been sold out. There will be no away ticket office at the game.
The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
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The third showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 kicks off for the Leverkusen eSports team this Thursday, 11 December (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Red will once again take on six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round, which will take place at this third showdown on 19 December in Cologne. Showdown One winners Bayer 04 will face FC St. Pauli, who won the second showdown last month, among others. The lowdown on first three opponents in this online preliminary round.
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Alejandro Grimaldo, of course! With his late equaliser (88') in the Champions League clash against Newcastle United, the Spaniard rescued a point for the Werkself, who took the lead through an own goal by Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (13') but went with two goals for the visitors scored by Anthony Gordon (51') and Lewis Miley (74'). It was the third draw for Bayer 04 in the current 2025/26 campaign on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase.
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The Werkself will be looking to continue their run in the Champions League against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The two victories without conceding a goal at Benfica (1:0) and Manchester City (2-0) will hopefully be followed by a win at home at the BayArena. Against the English side, who have a player with a Black and Red past in their ranks, the way to victory could be through efficiency in attack and quick transitional play. The latter in particular has recently caused the Magpies problems away from home on the European stage. Fans can also get the stylish matchday sticker for their Sound of Dreams tour pass at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. The matchday news.
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For the first time ever, Bayer 04 have reached the knockout phase of the UEFA Youth League. At the end of the league phase, the Leverkusen U19s secured a 2-1 home win against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December. Montrell Culbreath scored before half-time and Ferdinand Pohl doubled the lead after the restart in the clash with the English side. The UCL youth competition continues at the beginning of February with the Round of 32, which will be played away from home without a second leg.
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