"The games have always been evenly balanced recently. Regardless of the situation in the table, there’s lots of commitment and motivation on both sides, so the games are correspondingly hard-fought," says coach Roberto Pätzold: "The derby is even more important due to the situation in the table, as we are playing against a direct rival. In the next two home games before the break, it's important for us to establish a good position." While the Bayer 04 Women currently occupy fifth place, FC Köln, currently eighth on 25 points, could overtake them with a win on Friday night. One week after the derby, the next clash awaits on Sunday 22 February (14:00 CET) with a home game against TSG Hoffenheim, who are currently third.
FC Köln, meanwhile, have earned their strong position primarily thanks to their "very physical style of play", according to the coach: "They're having a great season and are a very tough opponent. They were particularly effective in the Hinrunde thanks to their striker Sandra Maria Jessen and a clear-cut style of play aiming straight for goal. When pressing, they create a one-on-one situation in every position. That makes it very difficult for opponents to come up with footballing solutions."
Last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt prevented the Werkself, who started the new year with two wins, from improving their position even further. "Apart from the result, we can take a lot of positives from the game. Our pressing worked, we repeatedly forced them into mistakes, had more possession and an even share of chances," said Pätzold: "Apart from the counterattacks in the final phase, we hardly allowed Frankfurt to get anything out of the game - and we even scored a goal that was within the rules, but unfortunately it was chalked off. Such close games are often decided by little things." That also goes hand in hand with a demand on his team for the derby: "We need the same desire we showed last weekend in the game against FC Köln. After the defeat, the battle for third place is no longer completely in our own hands. We want to be ready for any slip-ups from the competition."
Also encouraging is the energy shown in the Hinrunde, when the Black and Reds came back from two goals down at the Franz Kremer Stadium to level at 2-2 thanks in part to the late equaliser from Katharina Piljic from around 50 metres out. "That should give us confidence. We're prepared for a game with lots of duels and we want to control FC Köln even better than FC Nürnberg in the last home game," said the coach: "Both teams will attack with a lot of pace and the team with the greater resilience will come out on top. We are confident it will be us."
It remains to be seen if Claudia Wenger (injured following the Eintracht Frankfurt game) will be available for this game. Vanessa Haim (muscle injury), captain Friederike Repohl (torn ligament), Charlotte Voll (shoulder injury) and Shen Menglu (rehab training after torn cruciate) are all sidelined.
Derby tickets can be purchased in advance HERE from the online shop, and there will also be a matchday ticket office open from 17:00 CET. To avoid long waiting times, Bayer 04 recommend buying tickets in advance online.
Werkself Live for derby matchday:
“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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Several Werkself players are set to represent their national teams during the final international break of 2026. Here’s an overview of who has been called up and the matches they will face in November. This article will be updated regularly.
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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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