News in brief for #B04FCA: Fan march to home opener

Black and Red fans have had to wait three months for a Werkself Bundesliga home game and now it is here. Ahead of the clash with FCA led by new coach Enrico Maaßen, the Nordkurve12 fan group called for a joint fan march. The meeting point for all Bayer 04 fans is at the Wiesdorf market square at 10.00 CEST. The march will start at noon and end up at the fan bar near to the stadium.

Cortus refs

The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Benjamin Cortus as the match referee. The 40-year-old has refereed 13 games involving the Werkself to date. Cortus will today be assisted by Marco Achmüller and Benedikt Kempkes, and Robert Schröder is the fourth official. Have a good game.

unbeaten against FCA

This is a stat worth looking at: The Werkself have never lost against Augsburg in 22 games (15 wins). No other fixture in the history of the Bundesliga has been played so often without one of the two teams winning at least one game. Moreover: The Seoane team beat the Bavarian side 4-1 and 5-1 last season.

Werkself Radio and text updates

Werkself Radio is again available today. The audio broadcast starts half an hour before kick-off. There are also live text updates to ensure you don't miss anything in the game against Augsburg. Both Werkself Radio and the text updates are available at bayer04.de as well as on the Bayer 04 app – just tune in.

Werkself LIVE out now

Anyone wanting to get in the picture head of the game against the Swabians can catch up with the important information on the current matchday with the help of WerkselfLIVE. The flyer, providing stats and facts on the meeting with the Maaßen team, is available at the BayArena. Alternatively it is available as a digital download. Click HERE for the epaper.

latest traffic news

There are traffic updates for anybody coming to the match against FCA by car or on public transport. From Friday 12 August at 21.00 CEST to Monday 15 August at 05.00 CEST the A1 in the direction of Koblenz will be closed between the Leverkusen junction and the Köln Niehl exit. The alternative route as shown on screens along the autobahn. This diversion starts at the Leverkusen motorway junction via the A3 to the Köln Heumer motorway junction, via the A4 to the Köln West junction and by the A1 to the Köln-Nord intersection. It is possible to take the A59 via the A3 in the direction of Oberhausen to the Langenfeld junction and the A542 to the Monheim Süd junction.

In addition, there will be major challenges after the game due to the suspended S Bahn service around Leverkusen Mitte station. For anybody having to travel in the direction of Opladen they will be able to make use of increase number of buses from the BayArena at Bismarckstraße.

U8 match pre kick-off

There are a number of events planned before the game against Augsburg. There will be a match before kick-off for the first time in two years due to the pandemic. After the stadium opens the U8 teams from SV Schlebusch and SSV Alkenrath meet in a friendly.

Silver lions at half-time

Also on the programme: An interview pitch side with Sebastian Wodarsch who celebrates his five-year's membership of the Silberlöwen (Silver Lions). In addition, 23 coaches will be awarded their coaching badges by the Middle Rhine Football Association (FVM) at the first Bayer 04 home game. The coaches took part in a course to earn their coaching qualifications.

happy birthday, Toppi

Congratulations go to a birthday boy for the home game against Swabians. The former Bayer 04 coach Klaus Toppmöller today celebrates his 71st birthday. The former forward ended his playing career in 1987 and was in the dugout from that point. Toppmöller joined Leverkusen in 2001 and he coached the Werkself for two years – with great success. In 2001/02, he took the Black and Reds to the DFB Cup final, finished second in the Bundesliga and also took Bayer 04 to the Champions League final. Many happy returns on this birthday from Bayer 04.