UEFA have appointed experienced Englishman Michael Oliver to oversee the game. The 37-year-old has been a FIFA referee since 2012 and has previously taken charge of two Bayer 04 matches. The first was a 1-0 win at Rosenborg in the 2012/13 Europa League, followed by a 2-0 victory at Lokomotiv Moscow in the 2019/20 Champions League campaign. Oliver will be assisted by compatriots Stuart Burt and Simon Bennett. Chris Kavanagh is the VAR.
Atletico were also one of Leverkusen’s opponents the last time they competed in the Champions League back in 2019/20. In fact, this is the fourth season where Bayer 04 and the Madrid club have come up against each other. Previous encounters were in the 2014/15 round of 16 (Atletico won on penalties), the same stage of 2016/17 (4-2 on aggregate for the Spaniards) and in the aforementioned group stage in 2019/20, when the Werkself won 2-1 at home and lost 1-0 in Madrid.
Both teams probably expected their campaigns to have started differently. While the Werkself are currently second bottom in the Bundesliga, while Atletico themselves won only two of their first four league outings. A win at the weekend after their opening 2-1 victory over Porto in the Champions League perhaps shows signs of improvement. Here’s more on our opponents.
Bayer 04 fans can also have all the most important information to hand in Champions League home games with Werkself LIVE. The flyer, which offers facts and starts on the clash with Diego Simeone’s team, is displayed in the BayArena. It’s also available for free online HERE.
For those who can’t be at the BayArena tonight, they can listen to the Werkself Radio in German. The broadcast starts around half an hour before kick-off. You can also keep up to date with the German live text. Both are available on bayer04.de and in the Bayer 04 app.
Despite a major personnel shake-up in the summer, RB Leipzig have performed impressively this term. Ahead of matchday 15, coach Ole Werner's team are second in the Bundesliga with a three-point lead over their upcoming opponents Bayer 04. This Saturday, 20 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET), the Werkself are away to RBL who are strong at home. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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This year - for the third time - the parents of the Bayer 04 youth players from the U8 to U15 age groups once again took part in the WDR Christmas Miracle. Under the motto "Goals against hunger in the world - parents in goal!", they organised their own fundraising campaign to once again actively support the important WDR campaign. The sum of €3,420 was handed over at the Glashaus in Essen in the middle of the week during the live programme.
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On Tuesday evening, Bayer 04's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer and its employees welcomed some very special visitors to the company's Christmas market at its headquarters in Wuppertal: Werkself players Robert Andrich, Mark Flekken, Loïc Badé, Jarell Quansah and Malik Tillman spent lots of time with Bayer 04 fans of all ages in the early evening – and also helped to serve drinks such as Glühwein (mulled wine) and delicious food.
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The Leverkusen eSports players picked up just one point on Tuesday 16 December in the remaining three matches of the online preliminary round of Showdown Three in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. As a result, the #B04eSports team once again miss out on going through to the offline knockout phase and now head into the winter break.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has always stood for ambition, development, and progress. In recent years, these values have been reflected not only on the pitch, but beyond it. The Werkself continues to grow — regionally, nationally, and now more than ever internationally — and the recent visit from a delegation of our newest international fan club, Bayer4Arab, is a powerful example of this journey.
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