
The Werkself have gone out in all eleven knock-out rounds in Europe after losing the first leg at home. Hopefully that stat will change today.
The head-to-head favours Monaco: Bayer 04 have only won one of the seven previous matches against AS Monaco (2 draws, 4 defeats) – that was a 3-0 win in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in 2016/17.
AS Monaco continued their run in Ligue 1 at the weekend. The 2-1 win at Stade Brest was the ninth league game unbeaten on the bounce (7 wins, 2 draws). Clement made five changes to the team that played in Leverkusen. Further information Monaco is in our lowdown on the next opponents.
UEFA has appointed the Spanish referee Alejandro Hernández fir the match in the principality. This will be the first Werkself game with the 40-year-old in charge. His assistants are José Naranjo and Diego Sanchez Rojo with Guillermo Cuadra Fernández the VAR official.
As ever, Werkself Radio is available for anyone unable to be at the game. The audio broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann. The live text update service will also ensure that you can keep up to speed with the game. Both Werkself Radio and the live text updates can be found at bayer04.de as well as on the Bayer 04 app – get on board.
A podcast tip for all Bayer 04-Fans: Sporting managing director Simon Rolfes has recently been a guest on the podcast ‘Mehr als ein Spiel’. The podcast series launched in the summer of 2022 by the DFB foundations Sepp Herberger, Egidius Braun and the DFB cultural foundation is dedicated to community affairs, socio-political and cultural aspects of football. Here is the latest episode with Simon Rolfes!
The former Werkself player Ramon Menezes will act as the caretaker coach of the Brazil team for the international fixture against World Cup semi-finalists Morocco on 25 March. That was announced by the Brazil Football Association CBF. The U20 coach of the record South American winners of the World Cup played for Bayer 04 in the 1995/96 season under his name at the time of Ramon Hubner. He made 15 Bundesliga appearances. The Brazil FA parted company with national coach Tite after losing to Croatia in the World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar.

The Leverkusen eSports team played the remaining three of the six matches in the online preliminary round of the fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg were among the teams with the highest goal threat, including two World Cup participants in their ranks. Although the #B04eSports players were defeated in the matches overall, nine points from the first three games last week were enough for Leverkusen to advance to the offline round in Berlin on 2 February.
Show more
A decisive showdown awaits: The Werkself are aiming to progress to the play-off round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League with a home win against Villarreal CF on the eighth and final matchday of the league phase. Ahead of the match on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the game, the possible return of Edmond Tapsoba and a statement from new signing Jonas Omlin in an exclusive interview with Werkself TV. Lucas Vázquez, for his part, spoke about his role on and off the pitch as well as tomorrow’s opponents, who he often faced in Spain with Real Madrid.
Show more
For Villarreal CF, the match at Bayer 04 on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), will be their last appearance on the European stage this season. The Spanish side, currently fourth in La Liga, are still without a win in the UEFA Champions League and, with just one point from their seven games so far, have no chance of making the play-offs. The 2021 Europa League winners can therefore play without any pressure at the BayArena and will be looking to bow out of the competition with a good performance. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
Show more
The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more