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.
Following the international break, the Bayer 04 women’s team face their next head-to-head clash in the race for a top spot in the Bundesliga. In Saturday’s home match (14:00 CEST), the fourth-placed side host third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Head coach Roberto Pätzold is well aware of the great opportunity this presents for his team.
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Bayer 04 make their first trip to Poland for over 30 years as they face Lech Poznan on Matchday 2 of the league phase in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. The game kicks off at 18:45 CEST on Thursday, but the team will be preparing for the action on Wednesday with training, travel and pre-match press conferences. We’ll bring you all the latest news here…
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Bayer 04 remain unbeaten in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. After winning the opener against NK Celje, the Werkself followed that up on Thursday night with a 4–0 win away at the Polish champions Lech Poznan. Patrik Schick, who came on as a substitute early in the game, scored twice from the penalty spot, and Malik Tillman also found the back of the net before half-time. The second half was a more subdued affair, with Ibrahim Maza scoring late on to seal the final 4-0 scoreline.
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Since 2023, Bayer 04 has been organising regular free goalkeeping coach training sessions at the BayArena. As in previous years, the event attracted enormous interest in mid-October 2026. Around 140 participants – mostly goalkeeping coaches from the region, but also team and academy coaches as well as association staff – came to the Werkself stadium to gain expert knowledge on the subject of zonal marking. Through a theoretical keynote presentation and a practical session on the pitch, the participants gained insights into goalkeeping and goalkeeper training at Bayer 04.
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