
It’s one game after the next in the Bundesliga with the new matchday about to start. The Black and Reds kick it off tomorrow night (kick-off: 20.30 CET) with an away game at SC Freiburg. Unfortunately, the fans will not be able to support their Werkself from the stands. However, tomorrow’s clash is available on two streaming services and a Black and Red broadcast: Both DAZN and Amazon Prime are broadcasting the match live on TV. And, of course, Werkself Radio, with Niko and Cedric on the mic, will report live as well. Their commentary is available free of charge at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
Ahead of tomorrow’s match, Christian Streich is full of praise for Bayer 04 playmaker Kai Havertz. “He plays with total confidence. I’d be interested to know what his heart-rate is when he goes on the pitch. It’s probably half as high as mine although I’m not even playing,” said the Freiburg coach. “If you have the quality he does than you can obviously completely rely on your own ability. It’s a pleasure to watch him on television every week.”

The kick-off in the Breisgau is at 20.30 CET – it’s worth tuning in half an hour earlier. From 20.00 CET, Bayer 04 are again broadcasting ‘Spieltag – Die Show’ live on YouTube to get into the mood for the game along with the fans. The guests this time are Daniel Schwaab (PSV Eindhoven), who has played for both the Black and Reds and Freiburg, and Torben Hoffmann. The 45-year-old used to wear the Bayer 04 shirt. Hoffmann has worked as a reporter at Sky Sport News HD since 2011. Dirk Maverick will again sing the club anthem before kick-off – joining in is welcome and encouraged! Werkself Radio will then take over for the kick-off. Tune in!
Twelve days to go: Then it will be time for the eagerly awaited DFB Cup semi-final between FC Saarbrücken and Bayer 04. The club from the Saarland have had reason to celebrate this week: FCS return to the third division after a break of six years. This was due to a decision made by the extraordinary general meeting of the DFB on Monday that transferred decision-making on promotion to the regional associations. The South-West Regional League then declared FC Saarbrücken champions that simultaneously meant promotion. We congratulate the team and head coach Lukas Kwasniok and look forward to the clash in Völklingen.
Action returns to the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga at the weekend. The Bayer 04 Women’s team led by head coach Achim Feifel face MSV Duisburg in a North Rhine-Westphalia clash. The kick-off at the Kurtekotten Academy is at 14.00 CET. This game will also be played behind closed doors. DFB TV (tv.dfb.de) will broadcast the match live.
The most prolific goalscorer in the Bundesliga playing in goal is 46 today. He is, of course, Hans-Jörg Butt, who was between the sticks for the Werkself from 2001 to 2007. During that time, the Oldenburg-born shot-stopper scored 8 goals in 263 games with all of those coming from the penalty spot. Bayer 04: Many happy returns!

Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
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Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
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After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
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SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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