Bags of experience with the whistle: Dr. Felix Brych will referee the Werkself away game at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon, 2 January (kick-off: 15.30 CET). The 45-year-old lawyer from Munich has been a FIFA referee since 2007 and has also already officiated nearly 300 Bundesliga fixtures. His assistants for the #SGEB04 clash are Mark Borsch and Markus Schüller. Florian Badstübner is the VAR referee for the game.
Ahead of the game, Frankfurt head coach Adi Hütter shared his views on the opening match in the New Year. "Bayer play impressive football and are equally dangerous on the counter or at set pieces," said the Austrian in highlighting the strengths of the Werkself. "We have to believe we can more than compete on equal terms. A crucial element will be in counter-attacking situations because of Leverkusen have plenty of speed."
Hütter will have to manage without Sebastian Rode. The holding midfielder is serving a one-match ban. Ragnar Ache, one of the possible candidates up front after the departure of Bas Dost (Club Brugge) behind nine-goals man André Silva, is also ruled out because of injury.
As usual, Werks11 Radio will be covering matches in the New Year. The commentator duo of Cedric Pick/Niko Hartmann will be broadcasting live from the Deutsche Bank Park with coverage starting 30 minutes before kick-off. Log-in at bayer04.de or on the Bayer 04 app. The clash with the team from Hessen is also being broadcast by Sky.
It was an incredibly impressive goal that Leon Bailey scored to give the Werkself the lead in the home game against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on 13 December. With four minutes on the clock, the Jamaican took a quick corner from the right to Nadiem Amiri. Bailey ran past the Germany international, received the ball on his stronger left foot and curled it into the far top corner from the right hand side of the penalty area to make it 1-0. The match ended in a 4-1 victory for the Black and Reds.
Bailey's impressive shot has now deservedly been nominated for the December Goal of the Month on the ARD Sportschau. Also nominated: Julius Kade (Dynamo Dresden), Dennis Grote (Rot-Weiß Essen), Fin Bartels (Holstein Kiel) and Quentin Fouley (TuS Rot-Weiß Koblenz). You can vote up to midnight on 13 January by phone on 01371 36900 – with the final digit 1 for Leon Bailey as well as online at sportschau.de. Click HERE for the online vote.
Ski jumping gold-medal winner Sven Hannawald will be making the draw for the DFB Cup on Sunday 3 January on the ARD Sportschau from 17.30 CET. The Werkself still have to play their second round match: The home tie – again against Eintracht Frankfurt – originally set for 23 December was rearranged at the request of Bayer 04 to 12 January (kick-off: 20.45 CET). Therefore one of the balls will be marked Bayer 04/Eintracht Frankfurt. The DFB Cup Round of 16 will be played on 2 and 3 February with the quarter-finals on 2 and 3 March. The semi-finals will be on 1 and 2 May with the final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on 13 May.
Julian Baumgartlinger has played for the Werkself since the summer of 2016. The midfielder is currently enjoying his best season under the Bayer Cross and has proved to be a reliable player in front of the back four. The captain of the Austria team is 33 this Saturday. Hopefully, 'Baumi' can celebrate his birthday with three points in Frankfurt. We wish him a happy birthday.
Also a year older on Saturday are former Leverkusen players Hanno Balitsch and Jakub Bednarczyk. The former played for Bayer 04 from 2000 to 2005 as well as 2010 to 2012 and is now assistant coach with the Germany U20s. Bednarczyk joined the youth section at Bayer 04 in 2011 from Bergisch Gladbach. The right back progressed through all the youth teams and made it into the senior squad in 2018. A year later he moved to second division FC St. Pauli and is currently on loan in his home country of Poland. The 22-year-old is playing for Zaglebie Lubin. Bayer 04 also wish the duo a happy birthday.
SC Paderborn 07, the second-placed team in Bundesliga 2, face the Werkself in the second round of the DFB Pokal. Although Paderborn have won six games in a row, Bayer 04 have never lost to SCP. That will hopefully continue on Wednesday, 29 October (kick-off: 18:00 CET) with Patrick Ittrich the man with the whistle. The experienced referee will have to make do without the support of VAR at the Home Deluxe Arena. Read on for further information on tonight’s game in the matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), has announced the six nominees for the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for October - including Werkself player Alejandro Grimaldo. Black and Red fans can vote from now until Sunday, 2 November (23:59 CET).
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A Leverkusen player is a step closer to winning the UEFA Women's Nations League tournament after the semi-finals, and another Werkself player secured her nation's place in League A. A trio also impressed for the German U23s, while another made her debut for the U19s. Read on for updates on the most recent international appearances of the six members of the Bayer 04 Women’s first team squad.
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Can the Werkself build on their successful run in the Bundesliga in the DFB Pokal? "We're ready for the next good game," said coach Kasper Hjulmand confidently. Ahead of the second-round clash at SC Paderborn 07 on Wednesday, 29 October (kick-off:18:00 CET), the Dane spoke about the Bundesliga 2 title-contenders' impressive recent record as well as options in the centre of midfield, Schick's return and the goalkeeping situation for the cup tie.
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SC Paderborn 07 have made an excellent start to the season under new coach Ralf Kettemann. The current second-placed side in Bundesliga 2 have won their last six matches. The East Westphalians now head into their home game against the Werkself in the second round of the DFB Pokal on Wednesday, 29 October (kick-off: 18:00 CET) brimming with confidence. The lowdown on our next opponents
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