‘Get a fresh team on the pitch’: Women welcome promoted team HSV

The Werkself moved up to third place in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga with the fifth win of the season in Jena - a very pleasing result after eight matches. "We've had a few games where our opponents have conceded space, but I think the one in Jena was our best in terms of attack," said coach Roberto Pätzold: "We moved the ball well, repeatedly created space for ourselves on the wings, had a high number of crosses and good box-to-box defending. We created a lot of opportunities as a result. That must also be our benchmark for the coming games."

Pätzold: "Sharpened our awareness even more"

The fact there were seven changes to the starting line-up compared with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg was particularly positive, although he still sees plenty of room for improvement: "Despite the many personnel changes, we didn't suffer a drop in performance," said Pätzold: "We scored four times, but it should have been one or two goals more. We shouldn't have conceded the last goal like that, we nodded off as a group. That has sharpened our awareness even more."

He expects the newly promoted side from Hamburg, who have not won in four games, to adopt a similar approach to Jena last Sunday. "They sit deep and look to play on the break, but also attack high up at times and they have players who are good for dangerous individual actions. They scored three times against Wolfsburg and drew. Hamburg can pose problems for any opponent and will want to show a reaction to the 4-0 defeat against Frankfurt," said Pätzold: "We're getting ready for an intense game where patience, finding good positions and a high tempo will be important. We want to play in the danger zones with a high frequency again and act with determination. If we manage to do that, then we have a good chance of winning the game."

Wenger back in the squad

The Leverkusen line-up for the floodlit match - tickets are available HERE and from the matchday ticket office - will also depend on who recovers and how quickly. "We'll wait for training on Tuesday and get a fresh team on the pitch," announced the coach: "The course of the game played into our hands, so we can, for example, rest Carlotta Wamser who picked up a knock." The game on matchday 10 in Freiburg (Monday, 10 November, 18:00 CET) is unlikely to play a crucial role in his considerations. "The game is far enough away that we don't have to give it much consideration on Wednesday," said Pätzold. Charlotte Voll, Lilla Turanyi (both suspended), Friederike Repohl, Cornelia Kramer (both muscle injuries) and Shen Menglu (cruciate ligament) are ruled out, but Claudia Wenger (had a knock) returns to the squad.

Health campaign day - Bayer 04 organ donor cards

The game against Hamburg SV comes in the health campaign weeks at Bayer 04 from 20 October to 10 November. This year, the focus will be on the organ donation awareness campaign ‘Entscheidend ist die Entscheidung’ (‘It's the decision that counts’). Similar to the Werkself home match against SC Freiburg in the BayArena, activities are also planned in and around the stadium on Wednesday. There will be an information stand for the "Junge Helden e.V." association and a half-time talk with a representative of the association, and organ donor cards with the Bayer 04 logo will also be handed out. A first aid refresher course for fan club members and other fans will take place in the afternoon before the match. Further activities are planned beyond the matchday.