
The DFB have appointed Tobias Reichel as the referee at the Sportpark Ronhof. The 36-year-old has previously taken charge of two Werkself fixtures this season, the 1-1 draw at Union Berlin on the opening weekend and also the reverse fixture as Leverkusen recorded their highest home win in Bundesliga history by beating Fürth 7-1 at the BayArena in December.
Reichel’s assistants are Benedikt Kempkes and Sascha Thielert. Dr. Matthias Jöllenbeck is the VAR.
For everyone who can’t be cheering on the team from Fürth today, they can tune into the Werkself Radio as usual. It’s available on bayer04.de and in the new Bayer 04 app.
The Bayer 04 fan support has all you need to know on the game at the Sportpark Ronhof. Blocks O (standing) and P (seated) are the areas for away fans and can only be reached via Flurstraße. They cannot be reached from Laubenweg. More info HERE.
If today’s hosts fail to win, their relegation from the Bundesliga will be confirmed. Fürth are currently bottom on 17 points, 11 off the play-off place with four games to go. Greuther may have conceded by far the most goals in the division, but Stefan Leitl’s side have also kept clean sheets in three of their last four matches.
Bayer 04’s 1993 DFB Cup winner Franco Foda turns 56 today. He had moved to Leverkusen from Kaiserslautern three years earlier, going on to make 113 Bundesliga appearances for the Werkself (10 goals, six assists). He was head coach of the Austria national team until recently. Happy birthday!

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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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 0-1 loss at TSG Hoffenheim on Matchday 18 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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No points in the Kraichgau: the Werkself lost 1-0 away to top-six rivals TSG Hoffenheim on Bundesliga Matchday 18. Wouter Burger scored the only goal with a free kick in the ninth minute. In an uneventful contest, the Werkself tried hard to find an equaliser but were repeatedly thwarted.
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The meeting between fifth and sixth on Saturday afternoon (17 January, 15:30 CET) is a hard one to predict. While the Werkself can take confidence from their historic record at TSG Hoffenheim, the hosts are currently enjoying their second-best Bundesliga campaign and have lost just one of their last 10 games. Another good omen for Bayer 04: Daniel Schlager also refereed Leverkusen's last victory in Sinsheim (4-1). The Matchday News.
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