The German Football Association (DFB) have appointed FIFA referee Marco Fritz from Korb as today's match referee. His assistants are Dominik Schaal and Marcel Pelgrim. The fourth official is Florian Badstübner and Harm Osmers is the VAR.
This is Bundesliga match number seven for Fritz this season. He has been in charge of 18 Werkself games in the league with the Black and Reds winning 10 (3 draws, 5 defeats).
A total of 15,000 spectators are permitted to attend today's game at the Deutsche Bank Park. 535 tickets have been sold in the away end. Dear Bayer 04 fans, it's great to see you with the Werkself in the penultimate away game in 2021.
The Werkself go into the game against Eintracht Frankfurt as the closest challengers to the leading duo from Munich and Dortmund. The third-placed Seoane team currently have 27 points. The hosts have 18 points in twelfth position. December has brought a 3-2 defeat for the Eagles in the league against TSG Hoffenheim and on Thursday there was a 1-1 draw in the final Europa League group match at Fenerbahce.
In the summer of 2001, the then eight-year-old Danny da Costa joined Bayer 04. He was with the Black and Reds for 11 years before moving out on a two-year loan deal at FC Ingolstadt. In 2014, he decided to sign for FCI – and two years later it was back to Leverkusen. The right-back had his last season in Black and Red in 2016/17. Since then, he has played for the Eagles. We look forward to the reunion.
Norbert Sobbe was at the Werkself for two seasons. Signed from MSV Duisburg in 1974, the striker made 15 appearances in the Bundesliga 2 North. Sobbe then joined FC Viersen two years later. Today he celebrates his 68th birthday. Many happy returns.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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The Werkself began 2026 with defeat, losing 4-1 at home to VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga. Jamie Leweling opened the scoring early, with Maximilian Mittelstädt making it 2-0 from a penalty before Leweling again and Deniz Undav increased the lead to 4-0 just before half-time. Alejandro Grimaldo's penalty reduced the deficit midway through the second period.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has gained a new partner in digital gaming platform Crown Coins, which joins the Bundesliga runners-up's Sponsors Club with immediate effect. The one-and-a-half-year contract runs until 30 June 2027.
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The Werkself host VfB Stuttgart this evening (10 January, 18:30 CET), a side whose recent Bundesliga form has been indifferent but who have regularly produced top performances in the DFB Pokal and UEFA Europa League, and who have a key player back in the squad in striker Ermedin Demirovic. Off the pitch, the BayArena faithful will be able to see the remaining stoppage time live on the video screens. The Matchday News.
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