Heiko Herrlich's team clocked up the first away win of the season on Saturday with a fantastic 5-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Werkself played in their red away strip. Tonight, Bayer 04 are looking to extend the run in red and will again play in the all red kit. The visitors from Berlin, who knocked out fourth division FC Saarbrücken in the first round will play in black.
The Werkself and Union Berlin have met once before. That was on 29 October 2003, also in the second round of the DFB Cup. The Berliners were at home back then. The Werkself inflicted a 5-0 win on the second division side at their Alte Försterei ground – Hanno Balitsch, Dimitar Berbatov (2), Daniel Bierofka and Robson Ponte scored for Bayer 04 then managed by Klaus Augenthaler. Moreover: The only other team to win by the same margin against Union in the DFB Cup was Werder Bremen in August 2009.
Union Berlin sprang a surprise in 2000/01 when they reached the DFB Cup final only to lose 2-0 against Bundesliga side Schalke 04. The club from the east of the capital were not able to build on that success. In the following seasons they were knocked out twice in the Round of 16, eight times in the first round and four times in the second. This is the eighth time Union Berlin have been drawn against a Bundesliga side and the matches against teams from Germany's top flight have not been a great success for Union – the last six ties have all gone in favour of the team from the Bundesliga. The Werkself will be happy to see that run continue. The Berlin side were knocked out in the second round last term in a brave performance against Borussia Dortmund that ended in a 3-0 defeat on penalties.
Many Werkself fans will have bad memories of last season's cup campaign: the 2-2 scoreline after extra time at Sportfreunde Lotte resulted in a penalty shoot-out that the third division side won 4-3 in front of their own fans to go through to the Round of 16. For Bayer 04 that was the sixth exit from the DFB Cup against teams from lower divisions in the past eleven years (against second division MSV Duisburg (05/06), FC St. Pauli (07/08), FC Kaiserslautern (09/10 and 13/14), Dynamo Dresden (11/12) plus last season's defeat against third division Lotte. However, Bayer 04 have come out on top 17 times in the last 27 cup ties against second division sides.
Julian Brandt is set to make his ninth DFB Cup appearance against the team from Berlin. The 21-year-old can look back on an impressive record: in his last eight matches the Werkself number ten was involved in nine goals (one goal, eight assists). Brandt contributed two assists two months ago in the 3-0 first round win away to Karlsruher SC.
Joel Pohjanpalo played a large part in progressing against Karlsruhe when he scored to make it 2-0. The 23-year-old Finn has scored five times against Union Berlin in his career to date – with his former clubs VfR Aalen and Fortuna Düsseldorf. The overall record is on his side: three wins, one defeat and a draw. Given Kevin Volland is sidelined through injury, the chances have risen of the Finland international getting a game. His first double in Germany was scored by the Bayer 04 super sub in May 2014 – In a 3-0 home win for Aalen against Union.
Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
Show more
The Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.
Show more
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
Show more
A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
Show more
