
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.

Bayer 04 will round off their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with a friendly against Premier League side Newcastle United. The match against the side featuring German internationals Malik Thiaw and Nick Woltemade will take place on Saturday 15 August (kick-off: 4 pm German time/3 pm local time) at St James’ Park. Werkself-TV will stream the match live in full and free of charge after logging in from 3.50 pm...

After the 2-1 defeat at Premier League club Nottingham Forest the night before, it was straight back to work for the Werkself at midday on Thursday with an intensive training session in hot temperatures at the hosts' training ground.
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The Werkself suffered a first defeat in the current pre-season fixtures. The sixth friendly of the summer ended in 2-1 reverse at Premier League Nottingham Forest. The English side took an early lead (4’) but Patrik Schick levelled just after the half-hour mark (32’). Nothing much happened after that, and the match looked set to end in a draw. However, the hosts managed to score the winning goal late on (90').
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned U19 midfielder Jeremiah Mensah to Dutch second-tier side Roda JC Kerkrade for one year. The 18-year-old Germany youth international has a long-term contract at the club to 2031.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH has taken note of the final, non-binding statement issued by the Bundeskartellamt regarding the 50+1 rule and its application, and will now examine it carefully.
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