The Werkself are unbeaten in six Bundesliga visits to Wolfsburg and have picked up 16 out of a possible 18 points. In addition, the Wolves are waiting for a win for the first time after five games at home (three draws, two defeats) – the last time that happened to VfL was from March to October in 2020 (back then seven games). Moreover, the Wolves have been behind for 447 minutes at home this season That is only beaten on this matchday by bottom-of-the-table Schalke 04 (488).
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Sascha Stegemann as the match official for the game at the Volkswagen Arena. The 38-year-old has been in charge of four games involving the Werkself to date – all in the Bundesliga (one win, three defeats). His assistant referees today are Christof Günsch and Frederick Assmuth with Felix Zwayer in action as the VAR official.
Last weekend's 2-0 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach was the first reverse for VfL Wolfsburg after five games without defeat. The Wolves could have got a result against the Foals. The visitors were on top in the first half. "We dominated Gladbach and then we made some daft mistakes that cost us the first goal," said coach Niko Kovac annoyed at the first goal conceded that came from a misplaced pass by goalkeeper Koen Casteels. You can find out more about the personnel, performers and problems for VfL Wolfsburg in our lowdown of the next opponents.
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. 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 updates can be found at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app – tune in.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Werkself are away to Hamburg SV at the end of the Hinrunde in the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. The match at the newly promoted club is on Tuesday night, 13 January (kick-off: 20:30 CET). Ahead of the first encounter with HSV since 2018, Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the strengths of the opponents, lessons learnt from the home defeat against VfB Stuttgart and provided a squad update.
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In Germany, the temperatures are currently around zero, leaving even professional footballers freezing - but not the Bayer 04 Women. Roberto Pätzold's team have fled the cold to the south and are preparing for the second half of the season at a training camp in the Algarve, almost 2,000 kilometres away from home as the crow flies. The Leverkusen squad landed in Faro on Saturday morning and have already completed the first three training sessions over the weekend.
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It was a disappointing Saturday night. The Werkself lost 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart to start the new year on Bundesliga matchday 16 in 2025/26, a result that left both players and fans disappointed. "We played without any passion," said Alejandro Grimaldo honestly afterwards. Teammate Jarell Quansah was even more self-critical, emphasising: "We were miles off it in the first half. You can't put in a performance like that, especially in front of our own fans and I can only apologise to them, to be honest." Read on for the reaction, facts and stats from the clash with VfB Stuttgart in the Werkself review.
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