Our next opponents are often referred to as the Foals. Gladbach earned the nickname during the glory years in the 1970s because of the young average age of their team. It is no secret that Bayer 04 also place great emphasis on youth. In last weekend's 2-2 draw with VFL Wolfsburg the average age of the starting eleven was just 23 years and 339 days – RB Leipzig are the only team to have had a younger line-up this season. And: The average age was further reduced during the game with the introduction of Kai Havertz (18) and Joel Pohjanpalo (23) from the subs bench.
Bayer 04 are five points behind the rivals from the Rhine. That makes Borussia the favourites on Saturday. The record between the two clubs reveals Bayer 04 are on top: In the previous 70 meetings in Germany's top-flight the Werkself have won 25 times and the Foals 19. The most common outcome (26 times) in this fixture is the two sides sharing the points. The Werkself have only recorded more draws with Werder Bremen (29).
The Werkself have scored in all of the last 13 Bundesliga matches. That's the longest run of goals for any current Bundesliga team. Extending this run of goals would undoubtedly increase the chances of getting a result on the Lower Rhine following on from the draw at Schalke. Bayer 04 clocked up more games in succession with goals scored between February and September 2016 (15 matches).
The Werkself have shown in recent games that they can play football – Heiko Herrlich's team have celebrated scoring 15 times in the Bundesliga this season. Only Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern have netted more often this term. The Werkself stand a good chance of extending that total in Mönchengladbach. Bayer 04 have scored at least one goal in 23 of the last 24 Bundesliga fixtures against Borussia with the last blank coming in a 3-0 away defeat in May 2015. Moreover: With a total of 130 goals, the Werkself have not scored more often in the Bundesliga than against Gladbach.
In the 2-2 draw against Wolfsburg, Julian Baumgartlinger came on in place of Bayer 04 captain Lars Bender on 70 minutes and now he is on the verge of making his 150th Bundesliga appearance. Since signing in the summer of last year, the 29-year-old has played 25 games for the Werkself. Most of his appearances (124) came during his time at Mainz 05.
Midfielder Christoph Kramer and the currently injured striker Josip Drmic are two players in the Gladbach squad who used to play for the Werkself. Heiko Herrlich also spent time at our next opponents. The current head coach at Bayer 04 moved from Leverkusen to Mönchengladbach in 1993 and in the 1994/95 season he was the league's highest scorer (along with Mario Basler) with 20 goals to his credit and he later went on to win the DFB Cup. The striker played for Borussia for two years scoring 28 goals in 55 Bundesliga appearances. As a coach, Herrlich meets up with his former club for a second time: The first meeting was in January 2010 with VfL Bochum in a Bundesliga fixture at Gladbach that ended in a 2-1 victory for his team. It would be good if the next win comes on Saturday - It would be the first victory on the road for Bayer 04 this season.
The Werkself face Manchester City for the very first time on Tuesday for Matchday 5 of the league phase in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The hosts sit fourth in the standings and boast huge quality in attack, while Leverkusen are looking to improve their meagre record of just one win from the last 10 games away at English clubs. A key player in that regard could be Aleix Garcia, the former City midfielder who ranks highly in several passing metrics in the Champions League this season. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Werkself's next European trip takes them to the north-west of England as Kasper Hjulmand's side take on Manchester City on Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET) on Matchday 5 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. As usual, we'll take you along on the #aCROSSeurope journey and report from Manchester. All times listed are in CET.
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The dress rehearsal in the Premier League for the match against the Werkself did not go well at the weekend. However, Manchester City are still unbeaten in the UEFA Champions League, the competition they won in 2023. In the first encounter with Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Pep Guardiola will be able to field just about his best line-up. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Will the Bayer 04 U19s take the next step towards their first appearance in the knockout stage of the UEFA Youth League in the away game at Manchester City? Coach Kevin Brok is well aware of this historic opportunity, but he's not about to start worrying about the maths: "We're not concerned with the question of what might be good enough. We invest everything we can and always aim for the maximum. That's our way." The game on this penultimate Matchday 5 of the league phase takes place on Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 16:00 CET) at the Manchester City Academy Stadium. Werkself TV will be broadcasting the whole match exclusively for Bayer 04 club members live from 15:50 CET....
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€1,000 and food for a good cause: In keeping with the long-standing cooperation between Bayer 04 and the Tafel Leverkusen e.V. food bank, the U19s are also supporting the charitable organisation in the region. In addition to the generous cheque the team were able to donate to an organisation of their choice as a result of their participation in the UEFA Youth League, coach Kevin Brok's lads donated €500 worth of food - financed by their own team kitty. Ferdinand Pohl, Jesper Schlich and Co. also actively helped to stow the food in the Tafel's premises.
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