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.
The Werkself conceded a goal at home for the first time since the beginning of January 67 minutes into the game against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday. Jarell Quansah levelled late on for the final score of 1-1 to secure a point and avoid a first home defeat in six games. Bayer 04 were very critical of their performance after the game. The Werkself review.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against Mainz 05 on Matchday 24 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
A late goal secured a point for Bayer 04 at home to FSV Mainz 05 in a match that saw the Black and Reds dominant in the second half. Despite lots of possession, the Werkself initially found few gaps and fell behind after 67 minutes when Sheraldo Becker scored in a Mainz counter-attack. In the closing stages, Leverkusen threw everything forward once again and equalised through Jarell Quansah (88').
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