Bags of experience with the whistle: Dr. Felix Brych will referee the Werkself away game at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon, 2 January (kick-off: 15.30 CET). The 45-year-old lawyer from Munich has been a FIFA referee since 2007 and has also already officiated nearly 300 Bundesliga fixtures. His assistants for the #SGEB04 clash are Mark Borsch and Markus Schüller. Florian Badstübner is the VAR referee for the game.
Ahead of the game, Frankfurt head coach Adi Hütter shared his views on the opening match in the New Year. "Bayer play impressive football and are equally dangerous on the counter or at set pieces," said the Austrian in highlighting the strengths of the Werkself. "We have to believe we can more than compete on equal terms. A crucial element will be in counter-attacking situations because of Leverkusen have plenty of speed."
Hütter will have to manage without Sebastian Rode. The holding midfielder is serving a one-match ban. Ragnar Ache, one of the possible candidates up front after the departure of Bas Dost (Club Brugge) behind nine-goals man André Silva, is also ruled out because of injury.
As usual, Werks11 Radio will be covering matches in the New Year. The commentator duo of Cedric Pick/Niko Hartmann will be broadcasting live from the Deutsche Bank Park with coverage starting 30 minutes before kick-off. Log-in at bayer04.de or on the Bayer 04 app. The clash with the team from Hessen is also being broadcast by Sky.
It was an incredibly impressive goal that Leon Bailey scored to give the Werkself the lead in the home game against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on 13 December. With four minutes on the clock, the Jamaican took a quick corner from the right to Nadiem Amiri. Bailey ran past the Germany international, received the ball on his stronger left foot and curled it into the far top corner from the right hand side of the penalty area to make it 1-0. The match ended in a 4-1 victory for the Black and Reds.
Bailey's impressive shot has now deservedly been nominated for the December Goal of the Month on the ARD Sportschau. Also nominated: Julius Kade (Dynamo Dresden), Dennis Grote (Rot-Weiß Essen), Fin Bartels (Holstein Kiel) and Quentin Fouley (TuS Rot-Weiß Koblenz). You can vote up to midnight on 13 January by phone on 01371 36900 – with the final digit 1 for Leon Bailey as well as online at sportschau.de. Click HERE for the online vote.
Ski jumping gold-medal winner Sven Hannawald will be making the draw for the DFB Cup on Sunday 3 January on the ARD Sportschau from 17.30 CET. The Werkself still have to play their second round match: The home tie – again against Eintracht Frankfurt – originally set for 23 December was rearranged at the request of Bayer 04 to 12 January (kick-off: 20.45 CET). Therefore one of the balls will be marked Bayer 04/Eintracht Frankfurt. The DFB Cup Round of 16 will be played on 2 and 3 February with the quarter-finals on 2 and 3 March. The semi-finals will be on 1 and 2 May with the final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on 13 May.
Julian Baumgartlinger has played for the Werkself since the summer of 2016. The midfielder is currently enjoying his best season under the Bayer Cross and has proved to be a reliable player in front of the back four. The captain of the Austria team is 33 this Saturday. Hopefully, 'Baumi' can celebrate his birthday with three points in Frankfurt. We wish him a happy birthday.
Also a year older on Saturday are former Leverkusen players Hanno Balitsch and Jakub Bednarczyk. The former played for Bayer 04 from 2000 to 2005 as well as 2010 to 2012 and is now assistant coach with the Germany U20s. Bednarczyk joined the youth section at Bayer 04 in 2011 from Bergisch Gladbach. The right back progressed through all the youth teams and made it into the senior squad in 2018. A year later he moved to second division FC St. Pauli and is currently on loan in his home country of Poland. The 22-year-old is playing for Zaglebie Lubin. Bayer 04 also wish the duo a happy birthday.
The Bundesliga is back at the BayArena this Saturday as Bayer 04 play their first home game of the 2026/27 campaign against Union Berlin (15:30 CEST). Moussa Diaby could make his second debut for the Werkself following his return to Leverkusen – and it would be an ideal fixture for the Frenchman. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the encounter in our matchday news.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 at TSG Hoffenheim on the 3rd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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The Bundesliga returns to the BayArena for 2026/27 as Bayer 04 host Union Berlin on Saturday (15:30 CEST) looking for their first points of the season after last week’s opening loss at Elversberg. Head coach Carles Martínez spoke ahead of the game about what he’s learned, the team’s newest signings and who could return to the squad.
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Starting with the 2026/27 season, Bayer 04 has created a permanent memorial space at the BayArena. In the upper section of Block A in the southeast corner of the stadium, Werkself fans can honour friends and family members with whom they have shared many special moments connected to Bayer 04. In the coming months, this space will be gradually expanded, in particular with the active support of the fans.
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Bayer 04 has secured a new premium partner in DXC Technology, a leading provider of enterprise technology and innovation. The club has agreed a partnership with DXC running until 30 June 2028. At the heart of the partnership is DXC’s role as an AI integration partner. The company is integrating Bayer 04’s previously separate digital systems into a unified fan journey that begins long before matchday and extends well beyond the stadium visit. As a partner of the women’s team and main sponsor of #B04eSports, DXC will be supporting two promising sections of the club during this period. DXC will also gain significant visibility as the sleeve partner of the women’s team in the DFB Pokal.
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