Milestone
Patrick Ochs is about to make his 150th Bundesliga appearance (all for Eintracht!), he has scored two goals in four games this season so far - as many as in his 145 appearances before.
Special Service for the Fans
Former first team player Christoph Preuß is currently running through a traineeship at Eintracht's head office. He will join Alex Kolz who is doing the German live text commentary from the BayArena stadium in Leverkusen, offering his comments from a player's point of view for www.eintracht.de. Christoph about the special task: "I'm looking forward to it a lot and am excited about covering the game from the press stand. The game will be a bit easier for Eintracht as we seem to cope better away from home. And I'm sure we won't lose!" Don't forget - there is also an English language LIVE commentary covering all events such as goals, shots, cards, free kicks and substitutions throughout the game - click here.
Trip Down Memory Lane
Eintracht's Pirmin Schwegler and Theofanis Gekas meet their former employer, and both managers also meet their former clubs: Jupp Heynckes coached Frankfurt 1994/95 and Michael Skibbe was manager of Bayer from 2005 until 2008.
The Manager's View
Today Eintracht manager Skibbe offered insights on the status of the team, and on what he is expecting from the away trip.
Mr Skibbe, how is Alexander Meier?
He’s got some problems with his groin and will not play tomorrow evening, but I hope he’ll return on Saturday v Nuremberg.
And how about Pirmin Schwegler, he had a bruised thigh?
His troubles are fading away, so there should be no reason for him missing the game against Leverkusen.
Will Chris be in the starting line up?
Yes, he will return.
Which position will he play in?
I am not sure yet, I don’t know whether he’ll join the defense or take over Alex Meier’s role in midfield.
When will Ioannis Amanatidis and Martin Fenin return?
Amanatidis has trained twice without problems but is still a bit away from being fully fit. I hope it will be enough for the weekend. Martin Fenin is able to wear a shoe again after his toe infection but the Leverkusen game will be too early for him.
Both main Leverkusen strikers Helmes and Kießling are out injured. Who do you think will join Derdiyok up front?
We’ll have to wait and see. If Helmes can’t play Jörgensen might be an alternative. But it’s also possible they play Derdiyok on his own up front and Vidal pushing as an attacking midfielder.
Bayer also did not have a great start to the season. What do you expect from the game?
It is the same for Leverkusen and us, and all the other teams who were hoping for a better start into the season. They will try to win the game with high effort and commitment. We will try the same. We will have to come out of a firm defense, with fast attacks towards their goal, we will have to switch quickly between defending and attacking. If we achieve that and if we – like in Moenchengladbach – get close to our optimum we’ll have a chance to win the game.
In the media some of the players have been critical towards their team mates. How do you feel about that?
I spoke to the team about it. It does not help if you make cryptic comments, creating speculations. Everyone should focus on his own performance. Football is a sport of results, and that’s what we should look at. The players should simply admit that they have played badly, and that they’ll try to do it better the next time. I for myself do not feel that anyone in the team does not give his all.
