Before returning to competitive matches with the rearranged game at SC Freiburg on Sunday, 26 January (12.00 CET, Dreisamstadion), the Leverkusen Women are spending part of their winter break on the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to eight training sessions, there are two friendlies against Villarreal and second division Union Berlin with the squad returning to Leverkusen on Sunday.
The Werkself group set off from the BayArena by coach to Düsseldorf airport shortly after four in the morning. The flight to Alicante left at seven in the morning. Late in the morning, the team completed a coach transfer to the Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Hotel, their base for the next seven nights. The hotel has catered for many professional football teams for decades and has plenty of sporting options in addition to four grass pitches right next to the beach on the Costa del Azahar.
From the Bundesliga squad, Loreen Bender (recovery after tonsillitis operation), Juliette Vidal (broken nose in the friendly against Anderlecht), Vanessa Haim (back problems) and the long-term absentee Sofia Cava Marin (torn cruciate) did not travel to Spain. Goalkeeper Louisa Remien, Paula Schwartze, Jana Lindner and Kirkellis Lillemets (all from the Bayer 04 U20 team) have joined the squad. The newly signed midfielder Ruby Grant will join her new teammates on Monday afternoon.
After lunch and a short rest the Leverkusen Women made their way to the training ground in the afternoon a few minutes walk from the hotel. Pätzold let his team work on the ball for starters. That included a range of passing drills as well as possession and positional play with the session ending in a nine vs nine game.
The first friendly for the Bayer 04 Women in Oliva is on Tuesday, 14 January (12.00 CET) against Villarreal. A day before departure, the team fourth in the Bundesliga play second division Union Berlin, who have their training camp at the same base, on Saturday, 18 January (14.00 CET) with a 3×40 minutes match. The group fly back to Germany on Sunday morning. The complete winter timetable is HERE.
Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
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Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action this weekend. Following their elimination in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are away to FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 27. Ahead of the clash in the eastern Swabian Alps, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the fixture and the chances of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
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A quick look at the table shows the situation at FC Heidenheim is serious. The Bundesliga bottom club are already ten points behind the play-off spot with their backs to the wall in sporting terms. With eight games left to play, avoiding relegation appears to be a mission impossible. Nevertheless, they are far from flying the white flag at the Schlossberg ahead of the clash with the Werkself this Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.
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