Leverkusen have been unbeaten in the last ten away games. Stuttgart was the last team to beat Bayer 04 on own turf on 17 April 2010. The Werkself only lost two points in their last seven games on the road. But Nuremberg are strong on their home pitch. They are ranked fifth in the league in this statistic.
Bayer 04 are the only team to have scored in each of the last eleven Bundesliga matches.
Leverkusen scored eight head ball goals (top with Lautern and Stuttgart). Nuremberg have already conceded ten head ball goals (like Freiburg). Only Gladbach did worse in this statistic..
Jupp Heynckes was Dieter Hecking’s coach at Borussia Monchengladbach. Hecking gave his Bundesliga debut on 30 November 1984 against Fortuna Dusseldorf. His team lost 2-0.
Stefan Kiessling transferred from Nuremberg to Leverkusen in 2006. He scored 13 goals in 59 Bundesliga games between 2002 and 2006. In the second league he had scored two goals in 14 appearances.
It’s not a bold statement to say that a match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and 1. FC Nuremberg. There are connections between the clubs from both sides. Bayer 04 Assistant Coach Peter Hermann was former FCN-Coach Michael Oenning’s assistant between 2008 and 2009. Hermann says about this time: "It was a wonderful year in Nuremberg. I experienced a lot and I am very grateful.“ But then he returned to Leverkusen after a year. The bonds with the Werkself were still strong. “My family lives in Leverkusen. Everyone in Nuremberg understood why I wanted to go back.”
Stefan Reinartz also likes to remember his time in Franconia. He was loaned to FCN from Bayer 04. He helped the Club get promoted to the Bundesliga before he returned to the Werkself. It would be a special game, says Reinartz, also because “Jens Hegeler plays there”. Hegeler left Bayer 04 before the season and was loaned to Nuremberg. Hegeler states:"It is always something special for me to play against Leverkusen." He organised tickets for his family to come and watch his two clubs playing each other.
A little earlier Stefan Kiessling played for 1. FC Nuremberg. He signed with Nuremberg in 2002 and managed to become a regular there. Then he transferred to Leverkusen where he became a national player.