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.
Under the motto ‘Sound of Dreams - #aCROSS Europe 2025/26’, Bayer 04 are turning this season's UEFA Champions League season into a festival. In addition to a Spotify playlist that fans can use to get in the mood for the Champions League nights, there is also a tour pass with stickers for the respective UCL matches exclusively for Bayer 04 Club members. These could be picked up in the respective weeks of the matches. The sticker for the final clash in the league phase (Villarreal, 28 January, 21:00 CET) is now available at the Fanwelt. The competition for all diligent sticker collectors is also now open. Read on for further information.
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This afternoon, Saturday 24 January (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayer 04 host SV Werder Bremen, who are winless in their last seven league games. Nevertheless, in their last outing, a 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, where they conceded a late equaliser, the Green and Whites did show their team spirit. The Werkself, led by birthday boy Patrik Schick, will be looking to counter this and secure their first three points of the new year on this ‘!Never Again’ remembrance matchday to commemorate the victims of National Socialism. Read on for the latest information in today's matchday news.
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Happy birthday, Patrik Schick! On his special day, it's not just the Czech striker who can look forward to lots of presents and hopefully many more goals – Bayer 04 fans can also get their hands on a free number 14 print when they buy a Werkself jersey today, January 24! In addition, a match-worn jersey belonging to the now 30-year-old will be raffled off among all purchasers next week.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 win at 1. FC Union Berlin on the 15th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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