
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.

At its first general meeting on 5 February 2026 in Frankfurt am Main, the Frauen Bundesliga FBL e.V. made key decisions regarding the future direction of the Women’s Bundesliga. The meeting was based on the results of the negotiations with the German Football Association (DFB) over the past few weeks.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 3-0 win against FC St. Pauli in the quarter-final of the DFB-Pokal 2025/26...
Show more
Once again in the last four! Bayer 04 put in a mature and, for long stretches, commanding performance to defeat a courageous FC St. Pauli in the quarter-finals of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the third time in a row. Martin Terrier gave Leverkusen the lead on 32 minutes before Patrik Schick made it 2-0 on 63 minutes. Substitute Jonas Hofmann capped off a strong second half for the Werkself with the third goal in added time.
Show more
The German Football League (DFL) has announced the three candidates for the title of Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for January. That includes Werkself player Jarell Quansah. Fans of Bayer 04 can vote for their favourite on the Bundesliga app from now until Thursday, 5 January (23:59 CET).
Show more
As in the past two years, the Werkself are aiming to come out on top in the DFB Pokal quarter-finals on Tuesday night, 3 February (kick-off: 20:45 CET). With eleven home games in a row without defeat against the Kiezkicker, the Black and Reds go into the floodlit match in confident mood. But the Pokal, as is often said, has its own magic and the team from the Millerntor has much more to offer than the current 17th place in the Bundesliga would suggest. After all, Bayer 04 are one of the big German teams the combative Hamburgers have already made life difficult for this season. The matchday news.
Show more