Following the goalless draw against Union Berlin, the Werkself are now unbeaten in 14 games in succession (ten wins, four draws) – that last happened between September and December in 2017 (also 14 games).
FC Köln have often failed to gain a result against the Werkself in this century: The team from Cologne have only suffered more Bundesliga defeats against Bayern Munich (21) than they have against Bayer 04 (18). Over the same timescale, FC Köln have only lost more Bundesliga away games against Borussia Dortmund (11) than against the Werkself (10, as with Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach).
FC Köln lost at the weekend after a run of four games without defeat. However, the Cologne team produced another convincing performance in the 1-0 home defeat against SC Freiburg. "It's difficult to find the right words when you have such a good game and then end up losing," said FC Köln coach Steffen Baumgart. "The lads gave their all. It's great to see that we're back on track." They came off that track from the middle of February to the beginning of April. FC Köln went six games without a win (four defeats, two draws) and only scored one goal in that run of fixtures with a goal difference of 1 for and 13 against that saw them slip down to thirteenth in the table. The latest on personnel, performers and problems for the team from Cologne can be found in our lowdown on the next opponents.
Bayer 04 requests everybody to arrive at the BayArena in good time to allow fans to get to their seats in time for kick-off and to avoid long queues at the turnstiles.
Anyone wanting to read the key facts and stats about the derby before the game should take a look at the new Werkself LIVE. The matchday magazine is available at the BayArena and the digital version is also available free of charge online. HERE is the e-paper.
The German Football Association (DFB) have appointed Felix Zwayer as the match referee. The 41-year-old match official has previously been in charge of 29 games involving the Werkself (15 wins, six draws, eight defeats). His assistant referees are Marco Achmüller and Robert Wessel with Dr. Felix Brych in action as the VAR official.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at today's game. The audio broadcast begins 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Cedric Pick und Niko Hartmann plus Jens Nowotny. So, tune in.
In addition, the live text update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app – just log in.
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 4-0 victory in the friendly match against KRC Genk...
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In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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