
The Werkself have not clocked up as many wins in the Bundesliga against any other club as they have against VfB Stuttgart (40). VfB have only suffered more home defeats in the Bundesliga against Bayern Munich (32) than they have against Bayer 04 (18).
The Werkself have also only lost one of the last 22 matches against VfB (17 wins, 4 draws) – a 1-0 defeat at home in the Bundesliga in April 2018. The Black and Reds have not lost in their last ten visits to Stuttgart (7 wins, 3 draws) – Bayer 04 do not have a longer unbeaten run against any other current Bundesliga club.
Keep calm is the motto for VfB Stuttgart ahead of the last three games of the season. Easier said than done. Last weekend’s 2-1 defeat away to bottom-of-the-table Hertha Berlin was extremely annoying to the Swabians who were unable to exploit their superiority on the pitch, particularly in the second half. More possession (64%), more shots on goal (16-7), a higher pass completion rate (86%) – most of the stats were in favour of VfB. That reflected the great disappointment at the defeat in the capital. More info on personnel, performers and problems for VfB Stuttgart can be found in our lowdown on the next opponents.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Frank Willenborg as the referee for the match against VfB Stuttgart. The 44-year-old has previously been in charge of eight Bundesliga fixtures involving the Werkself (five wins, one draw, two defeats). His assistant referees are Guido Kleve and Dr. Arne Aarnink with Günter Perl in action as the VAR official.

Werkself Radio is available as usual for anyone unable to be at the game today. The audio broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann. You can also keep up-to-date via our live text commentary to ensure you don’t miss any of the action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.

The Werkself conceded a goal at home for the first time since the beginning of January 67 minutes into the game against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday. Jarell Quansah levelled late on for the final score of 1-1 to secure a point and avoid a first home defeat in six games. Bayer 04 were very critical of their performance after the game. The Werkself review.
Show more
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show more
From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against Mainz 05 on Matchday 24 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...

A late goal secured a point for Bayer 04 at home to FSV Mainz 05 in a match that saw the Black and Reds dominant in the second half. Despite lots of possession, the Werkself initially found few gaps and fell behind after 67 minutes when Sheraldo Becker scored in a Mainz counter-attack. In the closing stages, Leverkusen threw everything forward once again and equalised through Jarell Quansah (88').
Show more