
The Werkself have played TSG Hoffenheim 28 times since they were promoted in 2008. The stats favour the team from Leverkusen: the Black and Reds have won 16 of those games. In addition, Bayer 04 have never lost to a team coached by the current TSG manager André Breitenreiter.
The German Football Association (DFB) have appointed Tobias Reichel as the referee for today's clash at the BayArena. The 37-year-old match official has previously refereed three Werkself games that ended with two wins and one draw. His assistants on the touchline are Lasse Koslowski and Christian Bandurski and Markus Schmidt is the VAR referee. Have a good game.
Werkself Radio is again on air as usual today. The audio broadcast starts half an hour before kick-off. You can also keep up-to-date via live text commentary to make sure you do not miss anything that happens in the match against TSG. Both the Werkself Radio and the live text updates can be found at bayer04.de as well as on the Bayer 04 app – tune in.
Anyone wanting to get in the picture before the start of the game against Hoffenheim can again find the important information on matchday three with the help of Werkself LIVE. The flyer, providing stats and facts on the game against the Breitenreiter team, is available at the BayArena. A free version is also available online. Click HERE for the e-paper.

There is traffic information for anybody travelling to the match against TSG by car or on public transport. From Friday 19 August (21.00 CEST) to Monday 22 August (05.00 CEST) the A1 Autobahn is closed in the direction of Dortmund between the Köln Nord and Leverkusen West motorway junctions. An alternative route is displayed on the overhead signs. This route is via the A1 to the Köln-West motorway intersection, the A4 to the Köln-Heumar intersection and the A3 to the Leverkusen intersection.
There are also great challenges after the game due to cancelled S Bahn traffic around Leverkusen Mitte station. Anybody travelling in the direction of Opladen can take one of the extra buses from the BayArena at Bismarckstraße.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Carles Martínez Novell. Bayer 04 have appointed the 42-year-old Spaniard as the new head coach on a contract to 2028. Martínez most recently worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. He previously spent four years at Barcelona's legendary academy La Masia in his home city. Bayer04.de introduces Martínez in more detail.
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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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