
Striker Karim Bellarabi will not be able to train with the squad for several days. The forward had to go off in Tuesday night's DFB Cup semi-final at Saarbrücken (3-0) due to a slight muscle injury in his right thigh. When the 30-year-old will be able to rejoin his teammates on the pitch depends on his recovery over the next few days.
Thanks to his impressive performances, Kai Havertz is in the running to be the EA SPORTS Player of the Month for May. The 21-year-old has scored five goals in four league matches since the Bundesliga restart and has three times led the Werkself onto the pitch as captain. Click HERE to vote.
The following Bundesliga players are also nominated in addition to Havertz: Achraf Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund), Christoph Baumgartner (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) plus Joshua Kimmich and Benjamin Pavard (both FC Bayern).
Thanks to the 3-0 win in the semi-finals, the Black and Reds are through to the fourth DFB Cup final in the club's history. Back in 1993, the Werkself showed how to win that game and go on to lift the cup. Bayer 04 TV looks back at the highlights of the cup triumph against the Hertha Berlin Reserves 27 years ago today. Click HERE for the video.
Two former Bayer 04 players celebrate their birthday today: Eren Derdiyok played up front for the Werkself from 2009 to 2012 and in the 2013/14 season. The 32-year-old scored 26 goals for the Black and Reds in 108 Bundesliga appearances. Derdiyok is now playing for Pakhtakor Tashkent in Uzbekistan. And birthday greetings also go to Markus Anfang today. Born in Cologne, he played for the Bayer 04 youth teams and was youth coach at Leverkusen from 2013 to 2016. Anfang celebrates his 46th birthday today. Many happy returns, Eren and Markus.

The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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A great honour for Bayer 04 Women's German international: as part of the 2025 Sports Awards, Carlotta Wamser entered her name into the City of Leverkusen's Golden Book. On Tuesday, she looked back on a special year in a talk in the Morsbroich Castle hall of mirrors.
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It was a disappointing night in Athens: The Werkself lost 2-0 away to Olympiacos on Matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. In a match that was intense and fiery from the outset, the high-pressing home side made the better start and took the lead through Costinha on two minutes. Although the Werkself had a number of chances to equalise, the clinical Greek side increased the lead to 2-0 shortly before half-time (45+1’). In the second half, Leverkusen once again gave their all and showed total commitment but, despite their best efforts, the Black and Reds were unable to break down the Olympiacos defence on the night.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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