Bayer 04 against Bayern Munich is the second match against the current league leaders this season – the previous meeting with the top team saw the Werkself beat Union Berlin 5-0 on Bundesliga matchday 13 in what was the biggest Bundesliga victory to date this term.
Werkself coach Xabi Alonso made 117 appearances (nine goals) for Bayern Munich from 2014 to 2017 and now is facing his former club for the first time as a coach.
To help fans get to their seats in time for kick-off and to avoid long queues at the turnstiles, Bayer 04 again requests supporters arrive early at the BayArena.
Do a good deed at the home match: For the game against the current champions of Germany, Bayer 04 are calling for donations of food for the Leverkusener Tafel e.V. charity. Further information is available HERE.
At the two donation points in front of the access to Blocks B1/B2 and the entrance to the North West stand (E/F blocks) raffle tickets will be given to the people donating food. During the half-time break, ALEON Cases, a partner in the Bayer 04 Business Club, will raffle a signed cabin bag. This will also contain a voucher for a Bayer 04 shirt.
The winner will be able to claim the prize after the game at the Bayer 04 shop on the piazza (by the West Stand at the BayArena) on presentation of the winning ticket.
It is really no surprise that Bayern are in such good shape. They have few weak phases during a season. One came before the match against the Werkself in the Hinrunde. When Bayer 04 travelled to Munich, Julian Nagelsmann's team had not won in four games in succession (three draws, one defeat). That was followed by a 4-0 win against the Black and Reds and a sharp improvement in form. The record champions have been top of the table since matchday 13. And their stats are once again impressive: The table toppers have won eight out of their last nine games. The 3-2 defeat at bogey team Borussia Mönchengladbach in the middle of February this year was a one-off and the only defeat for FCB in the most recent 25 games (20 wins, four draws). Bayern still have a chance of winning three competitions following an impressive win over two legs against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League (1-0, 2-0) and now they face Manchester City in the quarter-finals. They are also in the last eight in the DFB Cup with the tie against SC Freiburg on 4 April. further information on the personnel, performers and problems for FC Bayern can be found in the profile of our next opponents.
Anybody wanting to read the key information ahead of the game can take a look at the new Werkself LIVE. The matchday programme, containing facts and stats on the game, is available at the BayArena. Alternatively it is available free online. HERE is the e-paper.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Tobias Stieler as the match referee. This will be the 26th game involving the Werkself with the 41-year-old in charge. The assistant referees are Christian Gittelmann and Dr. Jan Neitzel-Petersen and Sören Storks is 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 – tune in
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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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…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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