The Werkself have won three of the 14 games against the team from Saxony with the other fixtures resulting in four draws and seven defeats. The last victory was in April of this year in a 2-0 win at the BayArena. There is another first today: This is the first time that Bayer 04 and RB Leipzig have met on Bundesliga matchday one.
Germany coach Hansi Flick will be watching the first Werkself Bundesliga fixture of the new season at the ground. The 58-year-old announced he would watch the top match at the BayArena and Flick – alongside Rudi Völler – was at the opening game of the season yesterday between Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich (0-4).
The first international break of the new season comes in three weeks time: Germany play Japan in Wolfsburg on Saturday 9 September and that is followed three days later by a match against France in Dortmund.
There will be a very special tribute under the eyes of Flick during half-time: Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, together with Thomas Eichin (Director of licenced teams), will celebrate the achievements of the Leverkusen U17 Women. The team led by coach Alexander Vukicevic were crowned Germany U17 champions in June.
At the express request of numerous supporters from amongst the Leverkusen fan clubs, Bayer 04 have launched a Family block at the BayArena for the start of the season. This EVLfamily stand, located in the lower tier (Block A1 to A3), harks back to the early 2000s where there was a 'Family Street' and an 'Action Park'. The youngest fans can not only look forward to tickets at five euros each but also lots of participation events in the block, visits from ‘Brian the Lion’ plus a kids menu. The family block is completely sold out for today's home game against RB Leipzig. All the other home sections are also sold out.
In cooperation with the advice centre against sexualised violence Frauennotruf Leverkusen, the Bayer 04 fan liaison team and the Leverkusen fan project, the BayArena will this season once again provide the stage for the offer of support 'Luisa is here!' for people affected by sexual harassment at the stadium.
With rail cancellations at Leverkusen Mitte station there will again be challenges with travel to and from the game. Information on replacement buses is published and constantly updated on the Deutsche Bahn website.
Anyone wanting to read key information before the game should take a look at the new Werkself Live. The matchday programme, offering in compact form the most important facts and stats on the game, is available at the BayArena. Alternatively it is available free online. Click HERE for e-paper.
Lots of departures, numerous new signings – and a trophy. In Josko Gvardiol, Dominik Szoboszlai, Christopher Nkunku and Konrad Laimer, RB Leipzig had to give up four aces this summer. Nevertheless, the club from Saxony appear to have found excellent replacements on the transfer market: Lois Openda, Benjamin Sesko, Nicolas Seiwald, Xavi Simons and others have been signed up. The fact all looks good for the Saxons after the squad revamp was evident last weekend with the 3-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the DFL Supercup. Further information on RB Leipzig is is available in our lowdown on the next opponents.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed the experienced referee Dr Felix Brych for the game against the Red Bulls. For the 48-year-old match official this will be game number 44 involving the Werkself (24 wins, seven draws, 13 defeats). Brych will be assisted by Thorben Siewer and Robert Wessel on the touchlines with Günter Per in action as the VAR.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at today's game. The audio broadcast begins 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Cedric Pick und Niko Hartmann. In addition, the live text update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app – just log on.
The Werkself have reached at least the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal in each of the last three years. The Black-and-Reds would like to make it to the final four of the competition again this season, but to do that they'll need to overcome 1. FC Nürnberg in round two, who travel to the BayArena with momentum following a successful league campaign so far. However, Bayer have a 100 percent record at home in all competitions this season - and have also won six of their last seven home matches in the Pokal. The Matchday News.
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Back at home in the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal, Bayer 04 host FC Nürnberg at the BayArena. The match against the current second-placed side in Bundesliga 2 is on Wednesday 28 October at 20:45 CET. Ahead of the game, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about his anticipation of the clash in front of a home crowd. The Spaniard also commented on a number of personnel matters, including Ibrahim Maza and Montrell Culbreath, plus the visitors’ coach, Miroslav Klose.
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Now in their third season under head coach Miroslav Klose, FC Nürnberg are among the promotion contenders in Bundesliga 2. On Wednesday 28 October (kick-off: 20:45 CET), the team currently second in the table are away to Bayer 04 in the second round of the DFB Pokal. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Werkself player Ibrahim Maza has been named in the top ten in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category for 2026. The 20-year-old was at the London Palladium on Monday evening for the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony. Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, also attended the ceremony. Lamine Yamal of Barcelona was named the winner in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without forward Moussa Diaby for their upcoming matches. The 27-year-old Frenchman sustained a thigh injury in the 3-0 defeat against TSG Hoffenheim yesterday afternoon, Sunday 25 October. Diaby is expected to be available again after the international break in November.
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