The opening fixture on Tuesday 15 November (18.00 CET) is against Hamburg SV who finished second in the North West division last term. The opponents at 19.30 on matchday two are Holstein Kiel. The Saturday games on 19 November see the Leverkusen eSports players take on VfL Bochum (15.30 CET) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (17.00 CET).
Further exciting games follow at the beginning of December: On Sunday 4 December there is first the virtual derby against FC Köln from 15.30 CET and then the clash with last year's winners of the North West division, Hansa Rostock, from 17.00 CET. The Black and Reds then play the runners-up of the VBL Club Championship 2021/22 two days later: The fixture against FC St. Pauli is at 18.00 CET on St Nicolas Day.
The calendar year is rounded off with a treble matchday: Tuesday 20 December brings games against Schalke 04 (18.00 CET), Hertha Berlin (19.30 CET) and Werder Bremen (21.00 CET). The second half of the season starts in the New Year on Tuesday 10 January (18.00 CET) with the return match against HSV. The last match of the season is on Tuesday 28 February.
As usual, each fixture involves a best-of-three format, with two one-v-one games and one two-v-two match. The games are assessed individually according to three points for a win. At the end of the 30 matchdays, the top two teams in each division compete for the final round of the VBL Club Championship on 25 and 26 March 2023.
The teams finishing from third to sixth in each division meet on 7 and 8 March in the VBL Club Championship play-offs to determine the remaining four places in the finals. The German club champions are then determined by a knockout competition between the eight teams in the finals.
Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik will go in search of virtual goals this term and the duo are joined by the new #B04eSports talent Mario ‘BULJI’ Lovrinovic. As with last year, the matches involving the Leverkusen eSports players will be broadcast live on the club’s Twitch channel.
Further information on the participating teams and the structure of the season for this year's VBL Club Championship plus the ensuing VBL Grand Final, where the German individual championship will be played, can be found HERE.
A cracker of a semi-final at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Bayer 04 U19 team entertain Bayern Munich on Saturday, 10 May (kick-off: 11:00 CEST/stadium opens: 10:00 CEST). In front of a home crowd, the team led by head coach Sergi Runge, who welcomes back an attacking player, is looking to build on the battling performances from the previous knockout games and "perform at the right moment." Tickets are available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the game will also be broadcast live on Sky.
Show moreGermany U17 head coach Marc Meister has called up three Bayer 04 youth players for the forthcoming UEFA U17 European Championship. The tournament involving eight teams runs from 19 May to 1 June in Albania.
Show more"We have mixed feelings overall today," said head coach Xabi Alonso after the 2-2 draw away to SC Freiburg. Bayer 04 were deservedly 2-0 down against the Champions League contenders up to the closing minutes but fought back with a double whammy from Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Tah to earn a point in the end. That maintains the run of unbeaten away games in the Bundesliga – the all-time record has been achieved! The Werkself review.
Show moreBayer 04 have now gone 33 Bundesliga away games in succession without defeat and thereby equalled the record set by Bayern Munich: Jonathan Tah netted the equaliser at 2-2 in added time away to SC Freiburg on his 400th appearance for the Werkself. SCF took a 2-0 lead with a strike from Maximilian Eggestein (44') and a Piero Hincapie own goal (48') before Florian Wirtz pulled a goal back on 82 minutes.
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