The match between the team led by head coach Gerardo Seoane and Porto will be refereed by Anthony Taylor. The 43-year-old match official has previously been in charge of one Werkself match – the 4-0 home win against Real Betis in the 2021/22 Europa League season on 4 November of last year. Taylor's assistant referees tonight are Gary Beswick and Lee Betts with Stuart Atwell acting as the VAR referee. Have a good game!
A perfect record: The Werkself have not lost a single of their six Champions League games against Portuguese teams. Bayer 04 have three wins and a draw against Sporting CP and one win and one draw against their city rivals Benfica. In addition, the Black and Reds have won both of the previous European games against Porto. In the 2019/20 season, the Portuguese side lost 2-1 away and 3-1 at home in the UEFA Europa League.
The Werkself are probably the only team able to boast such an impressive record against Porto. The Portuguese side have won seven of their eight home games against German teams in the Champions League and the other match was a draw. Porto have won all of their last five games against German teams: Schalke 04 (twice), Hamburg SV, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig.
As usual on course in the league but without a point in the Champions League: The Portuguese side are presenting two faces in the different competitions. While last season's league champions and cup winners are as impressive as ever with six wins and one draw from the first eight matches, and have only conceded six goals, it only took two games in the current Champions League campaign before the Portuguese had conceded the same number of goals.
The Dragons are bottom of Group B after the 2-1 defeat in the opening game against Atletico Madrid and the 4-0 home defeat against Club Brugge and are now under pressure to get a result in the next game. Detailed further information on today's opponents from the north of Portugal can be found in our lowdown on the next opponents.
Anybody not in the away section at the Estádio do Dragão can follow the audio broadcast from Werkself Radio from 30 minutes before kick-off. Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann will again provide the commentary for the match against Porto. You can also keep up-to-date with the action via the live text updates. Both the radio and text updates can be found at bayer04.de as well as on the Bayer 04 app.
At the end of the winter training camp in Portugal, the Bayer 04 Women convincingly mastered their friendly ahead of the start of the second half of the season. In the match against Swiss league leaders Servette FCCF, coach Roberto Pätzold's team won 3-0 at the Monte Gordo Sports Complex. Carlotta Wamser (4’), Vanessa Fudalla (18’) and Loreen Bender (53’) scored for Bayer 04, who have been preparing for the Rückrunde in the Algarve since last Saturday.
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In the first episode of the new interview series "A New Chapter", Werkself defender Jarell Quansah reflects on his first few months under the Cross and speaks about his journey from England to Leverkusen. Having come through the ranks at Liverpool, a new chapter began for Quansah in the summer at Bayer 04 — with new objectives, fresh challenges and much ambition. In the video, the centre-back speaks about his development as a player and person, about the courage to leave your own comfort zone, and about what it means for him to be part of an international team in a different country. Honest, reflective and full of motivation — just like the start of his Werkself career.
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Full focus on Hoffenheim: after the late postponement of the away match at Hamburger SV, the Werkself are looking forward. To get themselves in top shape for the key clash at top-six rivals TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday 17 January (kick-off 15:30 CET), a number of players showed full commitment even on a day off - including two AFCON returnees...
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After Rio de Janeiro, it's off to Thuringia: This summer, Bayer 04 Leverkusen will prepare for the 2026/27 football season in Germany. While Brazil was the destination last year, the Werkself will now set up their training camp in Blankenhain, just outside Erfurt, from 1 to 7 August 2026.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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