
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.

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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After matchday 31 and the 2-1 derby win in Cologne, one thing is certain: Bayer 04 will at least compete in the UEFA Europa League in the coming 2026/27 campaign. But the Werkself want more. Looking at the race for Champions League qualification and the remaining three league fixtures, including against direct rivals, bayer04.de outlines the possible scenarios in the season run-in.
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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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