The German Football Association (DFB) have appointed Dr Felix Brych as the referee for the game against VfL Wolfsburg. The 47-year-old has previously been in charge of 42 games involving the Werkself with the Black and Reds picking up 24 wins, five draws and 13 defeats. Against today's opponents from Lower Saxony, the Werkself have never lost when Brych has been in charge. Today's assistant referees are Mark Borsch and Stefan Lupp with Tobias Stieler in action as the VAR official. Have a good game.
The Werkself have lost the last four Bundesliga home games against VfL Wolfsburg and that has only happened to the Leverkusen team once before against Bayern Munich from 2005 to 2008 (also four games). It is currently the longest run of away wins for the team from Lower Saxony and is only surpassed by five Bundesliga away wins in succession against Freiburg from 2013 to 2018.
Results have tended to favour the away team whenever the Werkself play Wolfsburg: None of the last twelve Bundesliga fixtures between VfL Wolfsburg and the Black and Reds have ended in a home win. It is the third time in the history of Germany's top flight that a fixture has not produced a home win in 12 or more meetings. Previously there was a run of 19 games between FC Köln and VfB Stuttgart between 2001 and 2016 and, before that, 13 games between 1860 Munich and Stuttgart from 1994 to 2000.
Wolves head coach Niko Kovac has not tasted much success in Leverkusen: As a coach in German football, the 51-year-old has lost all of his four away games at Bayer 04. Overall, he has been on the losing side against the Werkself in five out seven meetings (plus two wins). Kovac has not lost more often against any other team (also five defeats against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund).
Like many teams in the current Bundesliga campaign, the Wolves had a mixed start to the current season: The team under head coach Niko Kovac were seventeenth in the table with five points after seven games but three Bundesliga matches without defeat in succession (one win, two draws) took the Wolves up to thirteenth on ten points and that's the position they are in at the moment. Progress in the second round of the DFB Cup (a 2-1 win away to Eintracht Braunschweig) makes it four competitive matches in succession where the Wolves have been unbeaten. The Wolves have not only recently picked up important points but also shown enormous desire in battling to achieve them: The Kovac team twice went behind in the last match against Borussia Mönchengladbach but nearly won the game in the end.
The team from Lower Saxony appears to have recovered from the poor start to the season and this afternoon they meet the Werkself who have the same aim with the match kicking off at 15.30 CEST. More on the performers, personnel and problems for the Wolves plus a prediction for the clash can be found in our lowdown on the next opponents.
Anyone wanting to read the key information ahead of the match between the Alonso team and the Kovac side can take a look at the new Werkself LIVE. The matchday flyer, that provides the important facts and stats on the clash with the club from the home of Volkswagen in compact form, is available at the BayArena. Alternatively there is a free online version HERE.
As ever, anybody unable to make the game against Wolfsburg, can follow the action on Werkself Radio. The audio broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off with Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann providing the commentary. In addition, the latest state of play can be found via live text updates to ensure you do not miss anything in the match against the team from Lower Saxony. Both Werkself Radio and the live text updates can be found at bayer04.de as well as on the Bayer 04 app.
There are further problems with travelling to and from the game on public transport due to the suspension of the S-Bahn service in and around Leverkusen-Mitte station. Further up-to-date information can be found on the websites of the Deutsche Bahn and wupsi.
“School education: a key to success in a sporting career?” – this and other questions relating to dual training in sport, particularly in football, took centre stage at the EDU-DC Conference at the BayArena. The event, held in the Premium Lounge, brought together experts from top clubs and associations from 24 nations, including England, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. Representatives from Bayer 04 and TSV Bayer 04 provided insights into the interplay between school and sport at the Werkself.
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Decision made: Germany will submit a bid to the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to host the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Munich. The representatives of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) voted for Munich over Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr at their extraordinary meeting in Baden-Baden on Saturday 26 September. Berlin had already withdrawn from the vote a few days earlier.
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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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A challenging start to what will hopefully be a long journey: The Bayer 04 women’s team kick off their new DFB Pokal campaign on Sunday (14:00 CEST) against second-division leaders FC Viktoria Berlin. Coach Roberto Pätzold expects stiff resistance in the capital – and is counting on his team’s strong away form in the Bundesliga so far this term.
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