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 special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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