The German Football Association (DFB) have appointed Christian Dingert as today's match referee for the game at the MEWA Arena in Mainz. The 42-year-old has been in charge of twelve Werkself games to date resulting in four wins, three draws and five defeats. His assistants are Timo Gerach and Thomas Gorniak and Dr Felix Brych is in the VAR booth. Have a good game.
Bayer 04 have scored in all of the past ten Bundesliga matches against Mainz 05. That is the longest run of goals for the Werkself against an opponent currently in the Bundesliga. The statistics generally favour the team led by head coach Gerardo Seoane: 17 wins, five draws and 11 defeats in 33 meetings. The Werkself also come out top in a comparison of statistics. But that was also the case before the last two home games against Augsburg in Hoffenheim – with both games ending in defeat for Leverkusen.
Continuing with winning ways: In spite of losing key players like former captain Moussa Niakhaté, who has joined Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, and also Jeremiah St. Juste, who has signed for the Lisbon club Sporting CP, Mainz have been able to maintain their impressive performances from last season. FSV have made a respectable start to the season with two wins and one draw in the first three games and they are currently fourth in the table. The team from the Rhineland Palatinate also won their DFB Cup game with ease (3-0 against Erzgebirge Aue). All the key information on today's opponents from Mainz can be found in the lowdown on our next opponents.
You can also follow the Seoane team as usual via Werkself Radio. Anybody unable to support the team from the away stand at the MEWA Arena, can listen to the radio broadcast from half an hour before kick-off. Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann will again keep you up-to-date on the match against Mainz 05. Match information is also available via live text commentary. Both the radio broadcast and the text updates can be found at bayer04.de as well as on the Bayer 04 app.
Today's Black and Red birthday boy is Helmut Winklhofer who is 61 today. The player born in Lower Bavaria joined Leverkusen from Bayern Munich in 1982 and after three years and 98 Bundesliga appearances he returned to Munich and went on to win the German league title three times in succession and the DFB Cup with the German record champions. Bayer 04 wish Helmut many happy returns.
A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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