The Werkself have played 53 games in the Europa League to date with 29 wins and 103 goals scored – that is more than any other German club in this competition in all three categories (excluding qualifiers).
Bayer 04 have played two of those matches against today's opponents from Hungary: The Werkself beat Ferencváros 2-1 at home in the opening fixture of the Europa League group stage in 2021/22. After the Hungarians took an early lead through Ryan Mmaee (8'), Exequiel Palacios levelled the scores with a fine shot into the top corner before half-time (37'). Florian Wirtz netted the deserved winner for Bayer 04 in the second half (69'). The second leg at the Groupama Arena in Budapest ended in a 1-0 win for Ferencváros with the goal scored by Aissa Laidouni (82'), now playing for Union Berlin, but Leverkusen were already confirmed as the group winners before the match.
Bayer 04 requests everybody to arrive at the BayArena in good time to allow fans to get to their seats in time for kick-off and to avoid long queues at the turnstiles.
Bayer 04 will have to manage without two players in the first leg against Ferencváros: Both Robert Andrich and Exequiel Palacios are sidelined today due to one-match bans. Both were booked in the second leg of the play-off in Monaco and, as the yellow cards from the Champions League ties (Andrich four, Palacios two) are carried over to the Europa League, head coach Xabi Alonso will have to manage without the two holding midfielders. All previous bookings are expunged after the quarter-finals.
Ferencváros are undisputed league leaders in Hungary. With a 14-point lead over second placed Kecskemeti TE, the Green and Whites are on course for their 34th league title. It would also be their fifth in succession. The club have not lost in the league for thirteen games although they have only won one of their last four matches (three draws). The team under Russian coach Stanislav Cherchesov could only manage a 1-1 draw last weekend against seventh-placed Mezökövesd-Zsory SE. After taking an early lead through striker Adama Traoré, the visitors levelled in the first half. More on the personnel, performers and problems for the Hungarians can be found in the lowdown on our next opponents.
Anyone wanting to read key facts about the match against Mainz before the game should take a look at the new Werkself LIVE. The matchday flyer, providing important facts and stats on the clash in compact form, is available at the BayArena. The digital version is also available free of charge online. The e-paper is HERE.
UEFA has appointed the Italian Davide Massa as the referee for the match against Ferencváros. This will be the third time in the Europa League that the 41-year-old has been in charge of a game involving the Werkself: Massa previously refereed the goalless draw at FK Krasnodar (Round of 32 in 2018/19) as well as the 2-0 defeat against Young Boys Bern (Round of 32 in 2020/21). Massa's assistants are his fellow countrymen Filippo Meli and Stefano Alassio with Marco Di Bello in action as the VAR official.
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 and Niko Hartmann with former Bayer 04 player Falko Götz joining him for the second half. In addition, the live text update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss anything in the game. 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 have extended the contract with U19 midfielder Jonah Berghoff ahead of schedule. The Germany U18 international has signed professional terms with the club to 30 June 2030.
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With sixth place at the end of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign, Bayer 04 ended a season in the top third of the table for the ninth time in a row. While the Werkself were narrowly eliminated in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 by eventual finalists Arsenal, the Black and Reds reached the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the third season in succession. As in previous years, you once again have the opportunity to vote for your Player of the Season. Voting is exclusively for Bayer 04 Club members and only via the Bayer 04 app up to and including 11 June.
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With 46 points in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga, the Bayer 04 Women’s team once again broke the previous season's club record and ended up in fifth place - 15 wins is also a record. As in previous years, you now have the opportunity to vote for your Player of the Season. Voting is open exclusively to Bayer 04 Club members and only via the Bayer 04 app by 11 June.
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The guests at the Scala Club in Leverkusen were amazed when host Reiner Calmund suddenly brought the Managing Director of Sport at Bayer 04, Simon Rolfes, and record Werkself appearance maker Rüdiger Vollborn onto the stage. As part of the show "An Evening with Football & Friends", organised by long-serving Bayer 04 managing director and general manager Calmund, the two surprise guests drew plenty of applause - and provided great entertainment in exciting conversations about the past and future.
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