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.
The last friendly ahead of the start of the 2025/26 season takes Bayer 04 to England: The Werkself are away to Club World Cup winners Chelsea on Friday, 8 August (kick-off: 20:00 CEST). The Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team brings you the latest information on the fixture at Stamford Bridge in London…
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The Werkself won their third friendly in succession to provide a successful finish to the official Bayer 04 season launch for the 2025/26 campaign. In front of over 22,000 spectators at the BayArena, captain Robert Andrich, Christian Kofane with his first goal for the club and the impressive Exequiel Palacios scored in the first half.
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The Werkself will play Pisa SC, newly promoted to Serie A, at the BayArena as part of the season opener. The clash with the club from Tuscany is on Tuesday, 5 August with the kick-off at 18:00 CET. Werkself TV will broadcast the match live and free in full length from 17:40 CEST... Note: Due to existing TV rights, the match cannot be viewed in Italy.
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The first and only friendly of the summer at the BayArena is tonight: After the wins at Bochum (2-0) and Sittard (2-1), the Werkself host Pisa FC from Italy today, Tuesday 5 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST/stadium opens: 15:00 CEST). Read on for the latest information on the match and the programme of events at the official Bayer 04 season launch…
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