Edmond Tapsoba’s 22nd birthday moves into the background on this Tuesday with the focus being on the DFB Cup Round of 16 tie against RW Essen. After the job has been done and hopefully the best birthday present has been received – progress to the next round – then the team can raise a glass. Happy Birthday, Edmond!
We also send congratulations to Radoslaw Kaluzny, who played for Leverkusen from 2003 to 2005, and after that he signed for Rot-Weiss Essen, tonight’s opponents for the Werkself. Who will the Polish-born midfielder cross his fingers for on his 47th birthday?
Referee Daniel Schlager (31, banker) from Hügelsheim in Baden-Württemberg is in charge of tonight’s cup tie between the Werkself and Rot-Weiss Essen. Marcel Unger and Robert Wessel are assistant referees, Arne Aarnink is the fourth official. The video referees, who are used from the Round of 16 this year, are Tobias Reichel and Benedikt Kempkes.
Deutsche Telekom AG have extended their pay-TV rights option to the third division and the Women’s Bundesliga for another year to the end of the 2022/23 season. The company secured the rights in 2017 to broadcast third division games and top matches in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga on MagentaSport. That means selected matches involving the Bayer 04 Women will continue to be shown on the pay-TV channel.
Bayer 04 fans are again spoilt for choice: The club Facebook channel again provides the opportunity to choose the best Black and Red goal of the month – this time for January. Up for the vote are the goal scored by Nadiem Amiri against Eintracht Frankfurt, the goals by Dóra Zeller and Kristin Kögel from the Women’s friendly against Werder Bremen and the unmissable strike from Moussa Diaby against Borussia Dortmund. Here are all four goals to watch again. You can vote in the comments section.
He is the living club legend at Rot-Weiss Essen: Willi ‘Ente’ Lippens played for RWE from 1965 to 1976 and from 1979 to 1981. He made 449 appearances and scored 237 goals for Essen. Of course, he is crossing his fingers for his club in the cup clash. “It’s an away game for Leverkusen,” Lippens said to sid: “I can only advise not to be afraid, press high and put the opposition under pressure. And then we’ll see what happens.”
Video game developer Electronic Arts (EA), in collaboration with the Bundesliga, has announced the six nominees for the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for October 2026 – and Bayer 04’s Ibrahim Maza is among them. Fans of the Black and Reds can vote from now until Sunday 8 November (23:59 CET).
Show more
On Tuesday night, the Leverkusen e-sports team played the first three of their six group stage matches in the second round of the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship. They were unable to secure more than a draw in either of their matches against FC Augsburg and VfB Stuttgart. The match against Bayern Munich ended in defeat.
Show more
Once again, several Werkself players are set to represent their respective national teams during the final international break of the calendar year. Here is an overview of the Leverkusen players called up for international duty and the match dates. This will be updated regularly.
Show more
The Bundesliga has announced the nominees for the ‘Top Goal of the Month’ award for October. Fans of the Werkself can now vote for, amongst others, Robert Andrich’s stunning volley from the match against Mainz 05 or Moussa Diaby’s curling shot into the top corner from the same fixture. Voting, exclusively on the Bundesliga app, remains open until Sunday, 8 November (23:59 CET).
Show more
