The Rhenish duel between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and 1. FC Köln on Matchday 31 of the Bundesliga will be brought forward two days from Sunday, May 7 (3:30 p.m.) to Friday, May 5 (8:30 p.m.). The DFL confirmed this on Friday afternoon. “The new appointment was made at the urgent request of Bayer 04 Leverkusen and, among other things, only after consultation with the security authorities,” the league statement said.
The background to this is that the “Werkself” will have more preparation time for the upcoming first leg of the Europa League semifinals against AS Roma (May 11) due to the postponement of the game as the last remaining German participant in a European club competition. Coach Xabi Alonso had already announced in advance that he welcomed the measure: “It often happens in other countries. Now we are the last German team in Europe. That’s why this can happen. And it could help us,” the Spaniard said earlier on Friday morning.
Average attendance in Europe: Most people were in these stadiums in 2022/23
42 1. FC Kaiserslautern – Fritz-Walter-Stadion – average attendance: 38,942
The streaming service “DAZN” is the rights holder for the live games on both Friday and Sunday. “Bayer Leverkusen and the DFL approached us with a request to postpone the game. In terms of our good partnership, we have complied with this request,” said a spokesman for the Internet broadcaster. “We will therefore broadcast two games live on Friday evening at 8:30 p.m., both as a single game and as a conference program.” Mainz 05 and Schalke 04 will play the originally only Friday game on matchday 31.
According to the rules of the game, the people of Cologne did not have to agree. Clubs can only reject changes if they do not receive them at least four days before the game.
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