A look at the stats from a Black and Red perspective is encouraging: The Werkself have beaten Eintracht Frankfurt eight times in succession across all competitions – the longest run of home wins against a current Bundesliga club. The two teams are not giving anything away in this Bundesliga campaign. Eintracht are just ahead of the Werkself in sixth place with 41 points and Bayer 04 are seventh waiting to pounce with one point less.
The Werkself will go above Eintracht with a home win. The team under head coach Xabi Alonso would move up to sixth place with a seventh win on the bounce – Bayer 04 have not been that high up the table so far this season.
After a run of seven games without a win, Eintracht Frankfurt won again on Tuesday in the 2-0 victory in the DFB Cup quarter-final against Union Berlin. The team from Hessen produced a very convincing performance for much of the game. "We played brilliantly in the first half and the lads produced a great display overall," said head coach Oliver Glasner. Further information on Eintracht's squad, performers and problems is available in our lowdown on the next opponents.
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.
Anyone wanting to read key facts about the match against Eintracht Frankfurt before the game should take a look at the new Werkself LIVE. The matchday magazine is available at the BayArena and the digital version is also available free of charge online. HERE is the e-paper.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Robert Hartmann as the match referee foot today's game. The 43-year-old match official has previously been in charge of 17 games involving the Werkself. His assistant referees are Christian Leicher and Dr. Arne Aarnink with Günter Perl 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 und Niko Hartmann. In addition, the live text update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text updates can be found at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app – tune in.
Werkself player Karim Bellarabi today celebrates his 33rd birthday – many happy returns. Bellarabi joined Bayer 04 in the summer of 2011 and he played his first game for the Black and Reds in the derby against FC Köln on 17 September that year. Since then the Berlin-born forward, now the longest-serving Werkself player, has made 213 Bundesliga appearances for Bayer 04. The winger has scored 34 goals and provided 48 assists in those matches.
Ken Izekor is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join third-tier side Alemannia Aachen with immediate effect. The 19-year-old centre-forward joined the club from Alemannia in 2018, and Izekor is now returning to his hometown.
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The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Bayer 04 have named Jorginho, a 1994 World Cup winner with Brazil, an official club legend. He is the second former Werkself player, after Paulo Sergio, to be accorded this special honour. For many years, the former Leverkusen defender has been deeply committed to helping people in need in his home city of Rio de Janeiro. More than 25 years ago, Jorginho launched the Bola pra Frente project, through which he uses the money he earned as a player – including during his time at Bayer 04 – to support children and young people in the favelas in particular. During a trip to Brazil lasting several days, Fernando Carro, CEO at Bayer 04, assured Jorginho of the club’s support for Bola pra Frente for at least another five years.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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