Leon Bailey can play for the Black and Reds against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday (21.00 CET) but he will not appear in the Bundesliga in the immediate future: The sports tribunal of the German Football Association (DFB) has imposed a two-match ban plus a fine of €12,000. Bailey was sent off at the end of the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach after the referee Daniel Siebert adjudged the 23-year-old was guilty of violent conduct against opponent Patrick Herrmann. Bayer 04 and the player have accepted the verdict and it is now final.
Let's move on to better news: 6 November, the day of the game against Atletico, could bring the necessary modicum of luck for the as yet pointless Leverkusen side in the Champions League: The Werkself have not lost on that day (four wins, two draws). And the team captain Lars Bender already has positive experience of this date: The 30-year-old scored his first competitive goal for the Black and Reds in a 4-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on 6 November 2009. Moreover, none of the last five European games in November have ended in defeat (two wins, three draws) – hopefully that will continue!
Not just the date, but also the country of origin of the opponent, could play into the Werkself hands on Wednesday: In all twelve Champions League home games against Spanish clubs, Bayer 04 have always been on target with at least one goal per game (21 in total). If the Black and Reds beat Atletico then the exit from the Champions League will be avoided for the time being – regardless of the outcome of the other group match between Lokomotiv Moscow and Juventus (kick-off: 18.55 CET).
From today, action returns to the virtual pitch in terms of the search for wins and points: The first matches of the new season start at 18.00 CET. 22 teams are taking part this term including 11 first and 11 second division teams. Bayer 04 go into action on Thursday at 18.00 CET. Fabian ‘B04_Dubzje’ de Cae and new signing Kai ‘Deto’ Wollin face Arminia Bielefeld. At the end of the season, the six best teams will play for the title in the play-offs and an equal number of teams will be relegated.
There was also good news off the pitch: A total of €1,069 has been raised from the auction of three special shirts worn by Werkself pros Sven Bender, Nadiem Amiri and Panos Retsos. The considerable sum raised from the shirts worn in the Leipzig game will go to the Bayer 04 Sportförderung gGmbH for technical improvements in the delivery of match commentaries for the visually impaired. Other shirt events organised by fan liaison will follow shortly. Hats off!
Finally, we take a trip into the past with a Werkself legend: Bayer 04 honorary captain Rüdiger Vollborn – a player at Bayer 04 from 1981 to 2000 – will take listeners on a "journey through the history of our Werkself," that the goalkeeping legend will lead for the fourth time. On Wednesday 30 November, the 56-year-old will be at the 19nullvier Lounge at the BayArena to share exciting experiences from nearly 40 years at Leverkusen. It all kicks off at 19.04 CET and anyone interested in the two 60-minute lectures can apply by email to ruediger.vollborn@bayer04.de.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Werkself are away to Hamburg SV at the end of the Hinrunde in the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. The match at the newly promoted club is on Tuesday night, 13 January (kick-off: 20:30 CET). Ahead of the first encounter with HSV since 2018, Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the strengths of the opponents, lessons learnt from the home defeat against VfB Stuttgart and provided a squad update.
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In Germany, the temperatures are currently around zero, leaving even professional footballers freezing - but not the Bayer 04 Women. Roberto Pätzold's team have fled the cold to the south and are preparing for the second half of the season at a training camp in the Algarve, almost 2,000 kilometres away from home as the crow flies. The Leverkusen squad landed in Faro on Saturday morning and have already completed the first three training sessions over the weekend.
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It was a disappointing Saturday night. The Werkself lost 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart to start the new year on Bundesliga matchday 16 in 2025/26, a result that left both players and fans disappointed. "We played without any passion," said Alejandro Grimaldo honestly afterwards. Teammate Jarell Quansah was even more self-critical, emphasising: "We were miles off it in the first half. You can't put in a performance like that, especially in front of our own fans and I can only apologise to them, to be honest." Read on for the reaction, facts and stats from the clash with VfB Stuttgart in the Werkself review.
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