
The Werkself have arranged another friendly during an international break. That was also the case at the end of August when Heiko Herrlich's team lost 2-1 against VfL Bochum. The next break in the league and cup campaign sees Bayer 04 take on local third division club SC Fortuna Köln in a friendly on Thursday 5 October (15.00 CET, also at the Haberland Stadium).
There is another international break in the middle of November in between Bundesliga matchdays 11 and 12. The opponents on 9 November are MSV Duisburg who are newly promoted to the second division. The team coached by Ilia Gruev are currently eleventh in the table. The MSV squad includes former Leverkusen player Gerrit Nauber, who played for the Bayer 04 U17, U19 and Reserve teams between 2008 and 2012 . The match at the Haberland Stadium kicks off at 15.00 CET.

The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
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Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
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