Bayer 04 have only lost one of the last ten Bundesliga games against Mainz 05 (a 3-2 defeat away in February 2022) and that includes an impressive eight wins – since the start of 2018, the Werkself have not clocked up more wins against any other team and Mainz have not suffered more defeats against any other Bundesliga club over that period.
Equally positive from a Black and Red perspective: Bayer 04 have scored in all of the last eleven Bundesliga matches against Mainz – the longest run of goals for the Werkself against the current Bundesliga side. In turn, the Werkself have not conceded seven times in ten games against Mainz since the start of 2018, more than against any other team over that period.
Bayer 04 request 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.
This is now a tradition on the carnival matchday at the BayArena: For the home game against Mainz 05, Bayer catering are selling doughnuts for one euro. Three doughnuts are filled with mustard and any fan who gets one of these three doughnuts also wins a Bayer 04 shirt including lettering and numbering.
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. HERE is the e-paper.
The afternoon suited Mainz down to the ground: The overwhelmingly costumed fans of Mainz 05 celebrated themselves and the team in last Saturday's traditional carnival match with the players in a carnival strip as every year at this time. A great atmosphere in the stands quickly transferred to the pitch. The group under coach Bo Svensson earned a deserved 3-1 victory over FC Augsburg and Jae-sung Lee, scorer of a brace, led the celebrations in front of the funds with a red hat and a yellow wig on his head. And the coach was over the moon: "We tried to play with a lot of tempo from the start and we were very lively. I'm very happy with the performance of my team in managing to be very consistent throughout the game. It was another step forward for us today." More on the personnel, performers and problems at Mainz can be found in the lowdown on our next opponents.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Robert Schröder as the referee for the game against Mainz. This will be the fourth Werkself game in charge for the 37-year-old. Schröder is assisted by Guido Kleve and Christof Günsch, and Christian Dingert is 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. 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.
Bosnia U19 international Kerim Alajbegovic is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen's youth set-up to Red Bull Salzburg. The talented attacking midfielder has signed a long-term contract with the Austrian club. At the same time, the works club secured a buy-back option for the 17-year-old, who was one of the mainstays of the Leverkusen U19s.
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