The Werkself travelled to the capital on matchday 33 in the knowledge that three points at the Olympic Stadium could have been a big step towards qualifying for the Champions League. "We went to Berlin on the back of a good run and played well in the opening stages of the game," recalled head coach Peter Bosz at the pre-match press conference on Friday. The Werkself did not recover from going 1-0 down to a wonder strike on 22 minutes and the match ended in a 2-0 defeat for the visitors.
Ahead of the first meeting of the season with Hertha Berlin, the numbers are again in favour of the Werkself: The visitors, currently thirteenth in the table, are currently not performing to their own expectations with just one of the last seven Bundesliga matches won. "They are a good opponent. But they're not where everybody expected them to be," Bosz said. "Hertha have a lot of good individual players. But up to now they haven't managed to fulfil expectations as a team."
For the game against the team from the capital, the Dutchman still has to manage without long-term absentees through injury Santiago Arias, Paulinho and Exequiel Palacios as well as the captain Charles Aránguiz (knee). Edmond Tapsoba (positive Covid-19 test) and Sven Bender (ankle) are also sidelined. On the possible return of Lars Bender, who completed the regeneration session with the team on Friday, Bosz said: "We'll have to wait and see how he is."
In view of the winning run and third place in the Bundesliga, which the Werkself could secure with three points against Hertha Berlin, the 56-year-old drew a positive conclusion: "We have changed our style of play slightly and up to now that has worked really well. We want to build on that."
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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