
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.

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss at VfL Wolfsburg on the 20th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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After full time in the 1-1 draw against FC Bayern Munich, the Bayer 04 fans first had to catch their breath. Firstly because of their usual loud support, and secondly because of the great drama they'd witnessed on the pitch: three disallowed goals, two red cards and a Werkself side who "again produced a very good performance against strong opponents", as head coach Kasper Hjulmand described. The Dane was particularly enthused by the performance of young Montrell Culbreath, while Patrik Schick got to enjoy his 200th appearance under the Cross. The Werkself Review unpacks the action.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against FC Bayern Munich on Matchday 26 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Bayer 04 were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Bayern Munich in an eventful Matchday 26 fixture in the Bundesliga. Aleix Garcia had given the Werkself the lead inside six minutes, but Bayern levelled in the second half through Luis Diaz, despite Nicolas Jackson having been send off before the break. Diaz was then dismissed himself as Leverkusen pushed for a winner, which failed to materialise as Jonas Hofmann saw a late goal ruled out.
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