
Bayer 04 headed to the Ruhr area yesterday evening to the team hotel in Essen. Lukas Hradecky and Co. have a communal walk, a short meeting this morning and then lunch.
The circumstances could not be better: All 81,365 tickets for the game at the Signal Iduna Park have been sold so BVB and Bayer 04 meet in front of a full house. 5,294 fans from Leverkusen will be cheering on the Werkself tonight.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Dr Felix Brych as the referee. The 47-year-old has been in charge of 41 games involving the Werkself to date and the last time was a 2-0 away win at Wolfsburg on matchday 27 last season. Brych will be assisted by Mark Borsch and Robert Kempter, Patrick Alt is the fourth official. Have a good game.
A lot has changed on and off the pitch at Borussia Dortmund. Under head coach Edin Terzic, a spirit of optimism developed during the preseason also due in part to the signing of high quality players. BVB have brought in the Germany international players Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Süle and Karim Adeyemi. How tonight’s hosts performed in the DFB Cup and the performance and problems they have can be found in the lowdown on our next opponents.
The last draw between the two Bundesliga top teams at the Signal Iduna Park was on 31 January 2009 (1-1). A good omen for the Werkself: Last season the games were won by the away team with an impressive seven goals per match (a 4-3 win for Borussia Dortmund, a 5-2 victory for Bayer 04).
The Werkself matches this season will again be broadcast on Werkself Radio. Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann will today report live from the Signal Iduna Park. The broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off at 18.00 CEST and is available on the Bayer 04 app or at bayer04.de.
Two sevens for Wilhelm ‘Willi’ Haag: The man from the Rhineland Palatinate, who played for the Werkself in 1967 to 1970, today celebrates his 77th birthday. Bayer 04 wish him all the best for the coming year.

Full-back Julia Mickenhagen is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the end of the season to join Bundesliga newcomers VfB Stuttgart. The 21-year-old’s contract with the club expires on 30 June.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 3-1 win at RB Leipzig on the 25th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself fans from across the New York City area gathered Saturday morning at Smithfield Hall in Manhattan to cheer on Bayer 04 in the club’s crucial Bundesliga showdown against VfB Stuttgart given the match’s big implications.
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In the next head-to-head clash for the Champions League places at VfB Stuttgart, Bayer 04 failed to follow up their impressive 4-1 win at home to RB Leipzig from the week before. After Aleix Garcia gave the Werkself the lead with their fastest goal of the season, the Swabians turned the game around and won 3-1, knocking Leverkusen down into sixth place. It leaves them needing a win at home to Hamburger SV and other results to go their way on the final day of the 2025/26 campaign in order to reclaim fourth spot. The Werkself Review has all the analysis and reaction from all those involved in an eventful encounter with VfB.
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