The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Tobias Stieler as the referee for the match against FC Bayern. The 41-year-old match official has previously been in charge of 22 games involving the Werkself with the fixtures resulting in 17 wins, three draws and two defeats for Bayer 04. His assistants tonight are Christian Gittelmann and Eduard Beitinger running the line and Timo Gerach is the VAR referee. Have a good game!
The last three Bundesliga away games at FC Bayern have brought the Werkself four points (one win, one draw, one defeat) – as many as in the previous 15 away games in Munich. Of all the teams currently in Germany’s top flight, only Borussia Mönchengladbach have also picked up four points in their last three away games in Munich and no team has clocked up more.
The Seoane team need to be fully focused in defence: The record champions remain the yardstick for judging attacking prowess in the Bundesliga with 19 goals scored, 161 efforts on goal, 28 clear-cut goalscoring opportunities, seven shots against the woodwork and ten different goalscorers. In addition: FC Bayern have scored in all of their last 32 Bundesliga home games against Bayer 04 - the last time they failed to score was in a 1-0 defeat in October 1989. The only longer run of goals at home in their Bundesliga history is against Hamburg SV (39 games since 1979).
Like several of the supposed top teams in the Bundesliga, FC Bayern are not living up to expectations at the moment. The side from Munich did make an impressive start to the season as usual with an opening 6-1 demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt followed by an emphatic 7-0 victory over VfL Bochum on matchday three. FCB secured a convincing 2-0 win against VfL Wolfsburg on matchday two. However, they have not won since and Bayern are displaying an unfamiliar weakness: The team under head coach Julian Nagelsmann go into the clash with the Seoane team on the back of a negative run of three draws in succession followed by a 1-0 away defeat at FC Augsburg.
The imperative target for the Munich side is securing the next win but the Werkself are also looking to finally get back to winning ways. So, in spite of the meagre number of points and unsatisfactory situation in the table for both teams, an intense encounter under floodlights is on the cards tonight. All the other key information on our opponents from the capital of Bavaria can be found in our lowdown on our next opponents.
Today’s game against FC Bayern will be covered by Werkself Radio as usual. The audio broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off with the usual commentator team of Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann reporting live from the Allianz Arena. You can also keep up-to-date with the latest situation in the match against the record champions via the live text update service. Both Werkself Radio and the text updates can be found at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
The situation ahead of the showdown is clear - and promising. The Bayer 04 U19s host Newcastle United on the sixth and final matchday of the 2025/26 UEFA Youth League phase. A win at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium would see the Werkself go through to the knockout stages of the competition for the first time. Ahead of the clash on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 14:00 CET/livestream on bayer04.de and in the Bayer 04 app), coach Kevin Brok spoke about the successful build-up, his assessment of the match and the danger of underestimating the already eliminated English side.
Show more
The Werkself will host VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game is on Saturday, 10 January, at 18:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
Show more
The Werkself will host Werder Bremen at the BayArena on matchday 19 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game is on Saturday, 24 January, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
Show more
In the sixth and final match of the league phase of the UEFA Youth League 2025/26, the Bayer 04 U19s have a great opportunity to advance to the knockout phase of Europe’s most prestigious youth competition for the first time. To achieve that under their own steam, they will need a win against Newcastle United at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 14:00 CET/ free admission). In an interview with bayer04.de, managing director sport Simon Rolfes analyses the team's performances so far and their special situation. And the 43-year-old reveals what he would be happy to do without on the day of the match.
Show more
The next opponents in the 2025/26 DFB Pokal have been announced: Bayer 04 will host Bundesliga rivals FC St. Pauli in the quarter-finals. That was the outcome of the draw held this Sunday evening, 7 December, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund, where long-time Bundesliga player and coach Friedhelm Funkel made the draw. The Werkself will play their quarter-final tie on 3-4 or 10-11 February 2026. The exact dates have yet to be finalised.
Show more
