
Tonight's referee is the Frenchman Clement Turpin. This will be the second time the 40-year-old has been in charge of a game involving the Werkself. Turpin will have the support of his fellow countrymen Nicolas Danos and Cyril Gringore as assistant referees and Jerome Brisard is the VAR referee. Have a good game.
The Werkself have shown their ability to penetrate recently when the opponent has been Atlético Madrid: Leverkusen have won the last two Champions League matches against the Spanish side with both wins coming at home. The Rojiblancos are unbeaten against the Black and Reds in four European matches in Madrid – with two wins plus two draws from meetings in the Europa League and the Champions League.
The Spaniards have an even better record against German teams: Atlético Madrid have gone unbeaten in European competition in the last 11 home games against German clubs (eight wins, three draws). Borussia Dortmund were the last team to win in Madrid back in October 1996. In those eleven games, Atletico have only conceded four goals and never more than one per game. So the Spaniards are solid as ever at the back but less impressive up front recently: The Rojiblancos have not scored in the last three Champions League games. The last time they went four games without scoring in this competition was before Diego Simeone took the helm as head coach. That was between March and October 2009 when Abel Resino was in the dugout.
Just over four weeks ago, the two teams meeting in the first match between the Werkself and Atlético Madrid were not performing at the start of their league campaigns as expected. The Spaniards have made amends and are now again on top form: The Rojiblancos have picked up 13 out of a possible 15 points in La Liga and did not lose a single game in the league in October. The Madrid side have gradually moved up the table and are now the main pursuers of the two big clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona. More on the current form and line-up of the Spanish side can be found in our update on our next opponents.
Anyone unable to be at the game tonight can tune into Werkself Radio 30 minutes before kick-off. Cedric Pick is your commentator for the action in Madrid. There are also live text updates to keep you up-to-date with the match. Both Werkself Radio and the text updates can be found at bayer04.de as well as on the Bayer 04 app.

The final whistle of the current 2025/26 season marks the end of a unique partnership for Bayer 04 Leverkusen. After more than three decades of collaboration and highly eventful times, the Bundesliga football club and the private brewery Bitburger are going their separate ways.
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A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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