UEFA has appointed the Italian referee Maurizio Mariani for tonight's match against Club Brugge. The 40-year-old has previously refereed one match involving the Werkself – the 3-2 away win at OGC Nice in the group stage of the Europa League in the 2020/21 season. Mariani will be assisted by his fellow countrymen Fabiano Preti and Daniele Bindoni on the touchline and Paolo Valeri is the VAR official. Have a good game!
“Never change a running system,” appears to be the maxim for the Belgians in the current Champions League season: Brugge head coach Carl Hoefkens has only made three changes to his starting line-up with only Benfica making fewer (one). In contrast, the Werkself have made 14 changes to their starting eleven in the five previous group matches.
Moreover: Bayer 04 and Club Brugge have only previously faced each other twice on the European stage. And the Belgians went unbeaten both times: There was a 1-1 draw in the UEFA Cup in October 2006 and at the start of this Champions League campaign, Club Brugge beat the Black and Reds 1-0 in the first group match. The Hoefkens team were able to win at home but now the Belgians are on the road – and Brugge have only won one of the previous 15 away matches in Europe against German clubs (four draws, ten defeats). That one victory came on the last visit to Germany: A 2-1 win at RB Leipzig was achieved in the group stage of the Champions League last term.
Club Brugge are possibly the surprise package in the current Champions League campaign: They started in Group B as the supposed underdogs but the Hoefkens team are currently top of the group with ten points from the first five matches (three wins, one draw). The Belgian side are already certain of progress to the Round of 16 in the Champions League – through to the knockout stages for the first time in the history of Club Brugge. The Belgians had kept clean sheets up to the last match when they suffered a 4-0 defeat against Porto. Although they are through to the next round, Brugge are not certain of winning the group so they will endeavour to produce another convincing performance in tonight's game against the Werkself.
The Hoefkens team are currently third in the Jupiler Pro League with 32 points. They clocked up a 4-2 win in the last outing against KV Oostende currently lying fourteenth in the table. Not just the three points but the committed desire to win were evident in that game: They gave away a 2-0 lead through their own mistakes but showed courage and finally secured a deserved 4-2 win. More information on today's opponents from West Flanders can be found in our lowdown on the next opponents.
Anybody wanting information ahead of the game between the Alonso team and the Hoefkens eleven can catch up with the new Werkself LIVE. The matchday magazine, providing stats and facts on the clash with the club from West Flanders, is available at the BayArena. Alternatively it is available online free of charge HERE.
Anybody not able to make the match against Club Brugge can tune in to Werkself Radio. The audio broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann. As usual, the latest information is available via live text so you do not have to miss any of the action against the Belgian side. Both Werkself Radio and the live text service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
There are further problems with travelling to and from the game on public transport due to the suspension of the S-Bahn service in and around Leverkusen-Mitte station. Further up-to-date information can be found on the websites of the Deutsche Bahn and wupsi.
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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