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"We've hardly had time in the first part of the day to assess the fitness of the players. But that's normal in this phase. We will particularly use the time this afternoon to recover well. We will train again once on Saturday. We have an important game against a direct rival ahead of us," said Xabi Alonso.
The Spaniard sounding a warning about the hosts: "We will face a very good opponent. It won't be easy. They have a lot of power and are full of running." The 41-year-old coach then also made it clear: "We have the clear target of playing with maximum intensity to match our opponents on the pitch." That requires enough time to recover.
Alonso did not want to reveal his thinking on the line-up for Sunday: "We have a big squad. All the players are important and we will need them all in the coming weeks. We will only be able to make a final decision on Sunday. But I'm sure the best team possible will be on the pitch."
Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba and Jeremie Frimpong are on the verge of a one-match ban. However, Alonso does not want to "rest" the duo: "The next game is always the most important and we will take it seriously." The fitness of midfielder Exequiel Palacios is also a concern: "He felt something at the back of his thigh yesterday. We’ll have to wait and see what happens over the course of the day."
Alonso also praised the performance of substitute striker Sardar Azmoun: "He had a big influence on our game yesterday but also against Freiburg and Schalke. Adam Hlozek is a good option as well. Nadiem Amiri is also fit again. We have enough options in attack. It's my job to make these hard decisions."
Alonso was also thrilled by the reception for the team bus yesterday by thousands of Leverkusen fans on Bismarckstraße: "It was the first time for me as a coach experiencing something like that. The connection between team and fans is incredibly important. It was great to see it." The Werkself set off for Wolfsburg on Sunday morning where they will again have support: 600 fans are expected to travel from Leverkusen.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
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“As far as mentality and determination are concerned, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” Robert Andrich said up after the first home defeat for the Werkself this term. In terms of their play, too, the Black and Reds put in a respectable performance for long stretches of this intense and physical match, outperforming VfB Stuttgart in most areas. It was only in terms of efficiency in front of goal that the Swabians had the edge over the Werkself. Head coach Carles Martínez wants to learn from this so that, in future, they can “win this sort of match too”. The Werkself review.
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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 working 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 personal 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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Having previously recorded six consecutive home wins across all competitions, Bayer 04 suffered their first home defeat of 2026/27 as they went down 4-2 to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Matchday 8. The visitors capitalised on their first two chances to score, with Ermedin Demirovic and Jamie Leweling finding the net in the first half. Although Patrik Schick got a goal back in the first half, Bilal El Khannouss and Demirovic again added further goals for Stuttgart. Bayer 04 didn’t give up, but Ibrahim Maza’s goal proved little more than a consolation.
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Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
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