The brilliant 4-0 win in Cologne in the middle of December was followed by Hannes Wolf, "but we don't want to look too far back in the past but instead concentrate on tomorrow," declared the head coach on Friday. "It's about winning the next derby. And to do that we have to play good football but also display passion and the right mentality on the day."
In addition to defensive solidity, as already shown in Wolf's first game against FC Schalke 04 (2-1) and most recently in the 0-0 draw against TSG Hoffenheim, it is now about creating more chances. Wolf: "We’re at home and we are playing for a place in Europe. Of course, we want to score goals. Tomorrow would be a very good evening for that."
With the opposition, Friedhelm Funkel will be in the dugout again as the FC Köln head coach for the first time at the BayArena on Saturday. The 67-year-old coached the team from Cologne 20 years ago and started his second stint at the club on Monday. Before that, Funkel was the coach at Fortuna Düsseldorf for four years up to the start of 2020. "In that time, he had different approaches to games. Therefore, it will be good for us to focus on ourselves," said Wolf. The Werkself head coach is not expecting FC Köln to adopt destructive and defensive tactics.
Wolf has already experienced games like the one between Bayer 04 and FC Köln in previous points of his career. As a youth coach with Borussia Dortmund he played against FC Schalke 04. In his first team roles at Stuttgart there were clashes with Karlsruhe, and at Hamburg SV the rivals were FC St. Pauli. "I've already been involved in several derbies and am totally aware of the significance of this match. Now it's about Leverkusen coming out on top against FC Köln and increasing our points return to seven with the addition of three more points."
Match information:
Broadcasters: Sky and Werks11 Radio
Referee: The match officials will be announced on the day of the game
A group of about 50 members of the Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo visited Leverkusen over the past few days, accompanied by Bayer 04 club legend Paulo Sergio and Luiz Felipe (managing director of academy in São Paulo) for a week full of football, encounters and very special insights. In addition to the Bundesliga away game in Elversberg and the home game against Union Berlin, the visit also featured a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy in Leverkusen and a tour of the Bayer AG facilities. The guests also gained special insights into the club and the world of Bayer 04.
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“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 4-0 win against Union Berlin on Matchday 2 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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Bayer 04 have been handed a home tie in the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal after being paired with Nürnberg in Saturday evening’s draw at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. Games will be played on 27/28 October, with the German FA to confirm kick-off times in due course.
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