The anniversary-laden clash of the '04' teams is also the last home game of the season for the Bosz Boys. In between the three cheers in and around the BayArena it will be important for the Werkself to remain focused – in the race for a Champions League finish only a win will do against the Royal Blues. After the swashbuckling success against Eintracht Frankfurt, the Werkself are looking to get stuck in again against the team currently 15th in the table and pick up another three points. We bring you 04 facts on #B04S04.
Without doubt, the first half against Eintracht Frankfurt was a performance that will never be forgotten and not just by fans of the Black and Reds. The last time a team scored six goals in one half was 41 years ago – then (in the historic 12-0 win for Gladbach against Dortmund in April 1978) Bayer 04 were still in the second division. The Eintracht game once again underlined a particular strength of the Werkself: Early goals. This season the ball has found the back of the opposition net 24 times in the first 30 minutes – only FC Bayern have scored one more than that. Against Frankfurt it was even 04 goals – a record for the season!
Talking about early birds. The leader of the Werkself flock is Kai Havertz. Our number 29 scored as early as the second minute against Frankfurt – that was the seventh time this season the 19-year-old has opened the scoring for his team – more than any other Bundesliga pro. With all of his nine goals in the second half of the season, Havertz has put the Black and Reds in front. Above all in the closing stages of the campaign, the youngster seems to be revving up: With the exception of the Nürnberg game, the Germany international has scored in each of the last five league games. With a total of five. Hats off to the lad!
On and off the pitch, Julian Brandt is a congenial partner for Kai Havertz. And the Werkself number 10 has also had his foot down over the past few weeks – recently he has not only scored twice in succession but also provided an assist in the Frankfurt game that is his 13th in the current second half of the season. That means the 22-year-old can break a record in the remaining two league games. Since records have been kept, only one player has provided more assists in the second half of a season: in 1994/95 Andreas Herzog laid on 14 goals in a Werder Bremen shirt.
This will be the 70th meeting of the Black and Reds and the Royal Blues in the Bundesliga. The Werkself have won 31 times (20 draws, 18 defeats) – Bayer 04 have only won more often against VfB Stuttgart (36). And from a Schalke perspective, the Werkself are not at all a favourite opponent as the team from Gelsenkirchen only has a poorer points return against Bayern Munich. However, beware! In the last three home games against Schalke, the Werkself have only picked up one point (2015/16:1-1) and most recently there have been two defeats (2017/18:0-2; 2016/17:1-4). It is certainly time for a change. But FC Schalke are now doing well on the road: Since Huub Stevens has returned as coach, the Royal Blues are unbeaten away and the last three away games have produced seven points (1-0 at Hannover, 1-1 at Nürnberg and 4-2 at Dortmund) and that has secured their top-flight status. Schalke have picked up 17 of their 31 points on the road – as a percentage that is the best return of all Bundesliga teams this term (55 per cent). However, the Werkself should not be put off given two home wins in succession. Particularly in view of the fact Huub Stevens has not secured a win in his last three games against the Werkself (as coach at Schalke 04, Stuttgart and Hoffenheim). A 04th time in succession is a desired target for Bayer 04. And it would come at just the right time…
Match information:
Previous result: 2-1 (A)
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Oberaspach)
Weather forecast: 11 degrees, rain
Live TV broadcaster: Sky
In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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