Bayer 04 fans are putting on a special show for tonight’s Champions League match between the Werkself and Porto: To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the fan friendship between Bayer 04 and Kickers Offenbach, a large piece of choreography is planned in the North Stand just before kick-off and it is definitely not to be missed. So get to your seats in good time and feel the excitement.
UEFA have appointed István Kovács as the referee for the game against Porto. The Champions League encounter is the second match involving the Werkself with the 38-year-old match official in charge. The Black and Reds secured a 3-1 away win in the Europa League in 2019/20 on the previous occasion. The Romanian referee will tonight be assisted by his fellow countrymen Mihai Ovidiu Artene and Mihai Marica and Italian referee Paolo Valeri is the VAR official. Have a good game.
FC Porto tonight have the chance to win both games against the German team in the group stage of the Champions League for the fourth time. That previously happened against Werder Bremen (1993/94), Hertha Berlin (1999/00) and Hamburg SV (2006/07). However, the Dragons have not won any of their last seven outings against German teams on the European stage (two draws, five defeats). The last victory was a 3-1 win at Hamburg in the Champions League in 2006/07. On the other hand, the Werkself are in a position to win two home games in succession in the Champions League for the first time in eight years. The last time the Black and Reds achieved that was in October 2014 in the matches against Benfica (3-1) and Zenit St Petersburg (2-0).
Moreover: Three of the last four champions League goals for Porto was scored by substitutes including both of last week's goals against Leverkusen. They were both from assists by Mehdi Taremi. It's the first time the 30 year-old has been involved in more than one goal in a Champions League match. The team under head coach Xabi Alonso know what to expect.
Following the 2-0 away defeat against Porto on Tuesday 4 October, the Portuguese repeated the performance in their league: There was a 2-0 away win against SC Portimonense putting the Dragons in second place on 22 points in touch with league leaders Benfica (25 points). The Werkself were also able to pick up points: The last Bundesliga matchday brought a deserved 4-0 home win against Schalke 04.
The Portuguese have suffered a bitter blow ahead of the return match against the Werkself: Stalwart Pepe is sidelined after a knee injury sustained in training last week. At the same time, Wendell is looking forward to his return to Leverkusen. The Brazilian played under the Bayer Cross for seven years making 250 appearances for the Black and Reds. Further news on our opponents from the north-west of Portugal can be found here.
Bayer 04 fans can find out the latest key information ahead of Champions League home games in Werkself LIVE – as is the case for today's clash with Porto. The flyer, with stats and facts on the match against the team under head coach Sérgio Conceição is available at the BayArena. It is also available online HERE.
Anybody unable to be at the BayArena can again rely on Werkself Radio. The audio broadcast of the match begins 30 minutes before kick-off. In addition, you can stay informed via live text updates so you do not need to miss anything that happens in the match against the North Portuguese side. Both Werkself Radio and the live text updates can be found at bayer04.de as well as on the Bayer 04 app.
The sports tribunal of the German Football Association (DFB) has fined Bayer 04 Leverkusen €250. The decision was preceded by a case brought by the DFB control committee for unsporting conduct by a Bayer 04 supporter: 37 minutes into the Bundesliga game at home to SC Freiburg at the beginning of September, a Leverkusen spectator threw a firework towards the penalty area. As the Werkself were able to identify the perpetrator, the fine was reduced from €1,000 by 75% to €250 as according to sentencing guidelines.
The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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