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.
Former Werkself star Michael Ballack, who won the German Footballer of the Year award in 2002 while playing in Leverkusen, celebrates his 50th birthday on Saturday. Bayer 04 sends him its best wishes!
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Attention Werkself fans: In addition to tickets for the floodlit home match against Werder Bremen, tickets are now also available for the Bayer 04 women’s team’s two subsequent fixtures against Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburger SV at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Both matches in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga will take place at family-friendly kick-off times on Saturday afternoons. Here is the latest information on matchday ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen welcomes a new official member to the Sponsors’ Club at the start of the 2026/27 campaign. KKV Kabelverlegung GmbH & Co. KG is expanding its existing partnership and will, with immediate effect, act as a supporter of the Bundesliga club at the second-highest partner level, just below the premium tier. As an official partner in the Sponsors’ Club, KKV will now enjoy significantly enhanced visibility during Werkself matches at the BayArena. The new contract is initially valid until 30 June 2028.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has extended the existing partnership agreement with EDO Personalservice GmbH and, at the same time, expanded its collaboration with the Cologne-based company. The official partner in the Business Club has been upgraded within Bayer 04’s partner network. The revised and enhanced support for the club has initially been agreed for two years, running until 30 June 2028.
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Video games developer Electronic Arts (EA), in collaboration with the Bundesliga, has announced the six nominees for the Bundesliga ‘Player of the Month’ award for September – Bayer 04’s Miguel Gutiérrez has made it into this select group after just four Bundesliga matches. Fans of the Black and Reds can vote from now until Sunday 27 September (23:59 CEST).
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