Bayer 04 Women head to Essen needing to be “patient and assured on the ball”

Given a few days to digest last weekend’s 2-2 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, the coach was able to see the positives from the result. “We showed we can score goals against a top team as well and handle setbacks. At the same time, we’ve still got the potential to convert more possession in the final third into chances. But all in all, we’ve shown we’re very much capable of competing,” said the 45-year-old.

Pätzold: “Potential in all areas”

Including the 2-0 win at Karlsruhe in the DFB Pokal, the Werkself boast a positive aggregate result of 7-4 from their three competitive fixtures thus far this season. It’s a return they can very much build on. “We’ve allowed very little so far from open play. But Frankfurt had a few chances where we weren’t alert. So, some defensive points have come into focus,” said Pätzold looking back. “In general, I prefer us to score more goals than ground out a 1-0 win,” he added. However, the German coach is far from happy with everything: “We still have potential to be more consistent in all areas. It’s about working on those in the coming weeks to reduce negative outliers.”

The next opportunity to do so comes on Saturday afternoon at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße. Despite Essen’s moderate start to the season on paper with just one point from games against Hoffenheim (2-1 loss) and Köln (2-2 draw), Pätzold expects a strong opponent. “They were two very close games. They fought back very strongly in Cologne. They invest a lot, especially in terms of running, and have a very strong team performance, even if they have individual quality,” said the coach. “That's why they'll demand everything from us. We mustn't give them too many situations in which they can utilise their strength on the break.” It means his team have a clear task: “It’ll be important to be patient and assured on the ball until we can finish off our attacks. Then we will have opportunities to decide the game in our favour.”

An emotional afternoon awaits Katharina Piljic as well. The midfielder was born in Essen and made the step up from youth level to the Bundesliga with SGS. By the time she moved to Bayer 04 in the summer, she had already played 69 games in the top flight for her hometown club. This will be her first return back to where it all began.

Zdebel and Bender not yet back

Sofie Zdebel and Loreen Bender are not yet available following their elimination from the U20 World Cup against the USA with Germany. Charlotte Voll and Melissa Friedrich (both back in training) and Paulina Bartz (illness) are also still out.