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The Werkself and VfB Stuttgart meet for the fifth time within just eleven months. "The last matches against Stuttgart were all very exciting, intense and emotional. Not just for the fans and the players but also for us as coaches. I was always really exhausted after the last matches against them," declared Xabi Alonso with a smile at the pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon. "We can expect a big game. I have a good feeling."
Like Bayer 04, VfB Stuttgart also have a packed fixture list at the moment. The Swabian side have been very successful in recent weeks: A first victory in the UEFA Champions League away to Juventus was followed by wins against Holstein Kiel (Bundesliga; 2-1) and FC Kaiserslautern (DFB Pokal; 2-1). Alonso: "They have a lot of quality and you can see that in every game. I have great respect for Sebastian and his work. We will have to produce our best performance levels on and off the ball."
Unavailable for the game are Amine Adli (broken leg) and Jeanuel Belocian, who has undergone a minor operation this week after persistent ankle problems.
The Werkself have conceded at least one goal in the first eight Bundesliga matches with a combined total of 15. "Of course, we are not happy about that. It's a big challenge for us to improve our defensive performances. We are hoping for a clean sheet tomorrow," said Alonso in response to a question.
The last clean sheet for Bayer 04 was on Tuesday against SV 07 Elversberg (3-0) in the DFB Pokal, following on from the first round away to Carl Zeiss Jena (1-0) and in the Champions League games against Feyenoord (4-0) and AC Milan (1-0).
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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A top encounter at the start of Bundesliga Matchday 9: The Werkself entertain VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on Friday, 1 November (kick-off: 20.30 CET/live on DAZN and the Werkself Radio). At the pre-match press conference, head coach Xabi Alonso talked about the always exciting clashes with the Swabians and the clean sheet problem in the Bundesliga.
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The derby kicks off Matchday 8 in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga: The Werkself are away to next-to-bottom FC Köln at the Franz Kremer Stadium on Friday, 1 November (kick-off: 18.30 CET). Head coach Roberto Pätzold is in optimistic mood ahead of the game despite the late return of several international players.
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VfB Stuttgart have not beaten Bayer 04 in 13 games. Nevertheless, the two teams have played close and high quality games in recent years – most recently in the Supercup in August. The Swabian team will be looking to confirm their current good form at the BayArena on Friday night, 1 November (kick-off: 20.30 CET). The team currently eighth in the table head to Leverkusen with a lot of confidence after three wins in succession. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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