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.
Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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Following on from the emotional last-minute win at Union Berlin, the Bayer 04 Women now face a promoted team: On Saturday, 31 January (12:00 CET), coach Roberto Pätzold's team welcome FC Nürnberg to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for their first home game of the new year. In their second season in the Bundesliga, the Franconians have impressed with 16 points from the first 15 games.
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