"Of course, the Pokal game is still at the back of our minds, especially because it was very intense and full of twists and turns," recalls coach Roberto Pätzold: "We had plenty of opportunities there to win the game before extra time, but we didn't exploit our attacking superiority enough." Back then, Julia Mickenhagen cancelled out Hamburg's lead with a wonder goal from 25 metres out, and after several missed chances to net the winner, the hosts finally prevailed from the penalty spot. "This time we want to show our quality on the pitch and reward ourselves with three points," said Pätzold.
After the recent 1-0 home win against FC Carl Zeiss Jena, the coach sees potential for improvement, particularly in his team’s attacking play. Although they showed "good approach work in many phases" against Jena and played a controlled game in the final third, they lacked consistency: "We have to manage to show more dominance and be more clinical with our chances."
He expects coach Liese Brancao's team to be "just as motivated as Jena recently", who are twelfth in the table, three points ahead of the relegation places, and urgently need a result in their fight to stay up. Hamburg have shown in the second half of the season "that they want to play constructive football and show a lot of commitment". Accordingly, the coach expects an intense match: "It will be a hard-fought game where nothing will be given to us."
The Leverkusen coach describes the opponents as a dangerous mix: "Hamburg are not your average promoted team, but they play with a typical promoted attitude." Packed with a number of internationals and characterised by a bold attitude, HSV are difficult to play against, but also show fluctuations. "That's where we have to start and consistently bring our strengths to the pitch." Above all, "high intensity" will be crucial. The Volksparkstadion will also see a quick reunion on Monday with attacking player Paulina Bartz, who joined HSV on loan in the winter and recently scored her first Bundesliga goal in Jena.
Bayer 04 will be able to call on Loreen Bender again after she served her one-match suspension.Juliette Vidal and Shen Menglu (both muscular problems) are doubtful, while Caroline Kehrer (knee), Amy Wrigge (torn cruciate), Charlotte Voll (rehab training) and Friederike Repohl (partial ligament tear) are still sidelined.
If you would like to support the Werkself at the Volksparkstadion, you can purchase tickets HERE. Blocks 16a and 17a are allocated to away fans.
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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