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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned U19 midfielder Jeremiah Mensah to Dutch second-tier side Roda JC Kerkrade for one year. The 18-year-old Germany youth international has a long-term contract at the club to 2031.
Show more
Bayer 04 kick off the final phase of their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with a friendly against Premier League club Nottingham Forest. Head coach Carles Martínez’s team will take to the pitch at the City Ground today, Wednesday 12 August (kick-off: 8.45 pm/7.45 pm local time). Werkself-TV will broadcast the match live and in full exclusively for Bayer 04 members via livestream from 8.35 pm...
Villa Fiorito, River Plate, Ligue 1, the World Cup final and now Bayer 04: Facundo Medina’s life story so far has been shaped by special places, clubs, matches and names. One of them is Diego Maradona, who, like Medina, hailed from the south of Buenos Aires. Another is Exequiel Palacios, his former team-mate at River Plate, who was raving about Bayer 04 to him as recently as the World Cup in North America. Medina has now taken the plunge into the Bundesliga and, as an Argentine World Cup runner-up, has joined Bayer 04 from Olympique de Marseille this week. It is set to be the next successful chapter in his career. Leverkusen’s new number 2 brings with him a South American mentality and passion, a wealth of experience from many years in Ligue 1, and a fascinating story to the Rhineland – and to a club where the 1.84-metre-tall left-footed player will be reunited with Palacios and several other familiar faces.
Show more
Shortly after signing his contract with Bayer 04, new signing Facundo Medina spoke to Werkself.tv about his first impressions of the club, his expectations and his conversations with his Argentine compatriot Exequiel Palacios. The defender also reveals what the fans can look forward to. Welcome to Leverkusen, Facu!
Show more
Welcome back! On Tuesday morning, 11 August, Jarell Quansah and Exequiel Palacios – the last of the Werkself’s World Cup participants – returned to training. The two medallists and their team-mates are set to play their final two pre-season friendlies in England this week before the start of competitive fixtures.
Show more
