Following Tuesday night’s 2-1 win, the team under head coach Peter Bosz temporarily moved up to second in the table behind Bayern Munich – but RB Leipzig regained second spot on Wednesday with a 1-0 win against Union Berlin. That means the Werkself finish the first half of the season on 32 points (Leipzig: 35; Bayern: 39) in third place in a Champions League position.
Due to the crowded fixture list, the first half of the season finishes in the middle of a run of games – there is no sense of half-time as the second half of the season starts on Saturday with a game at home to VfL Wolfsburg (Saturday 23 January, 15.30 CET).
The final day in self-isolation after arriving in Germany on Sunday, the first Werkself training session on Monday, the first time in the squad on Tuesday against BVB – new signing Timothy Fosu-Mensah has jumped straight in at the deep end with the Werkself. Thursday brought the obligatory first media session. At the photo shoot, profile and autograph card photos were taken and that was followed by video production and the first interview was completed. That will be available here soon on Bayer 04 TV.
Our sporting director has a reason to celebrate: Simon Rolfes’ birthday is today. The Bayer 04 honorary captain was born in Ibbenbüren in the Westphalian region of Tecklenburger Land 39 years ago. The Bayer 04 family wish Simon many happy returns. On his birthday, we have dug out the Bayer 04 YouTube channel episode of ‘Den kenn‘ ich!’ (I know him) with Rolfes and Stefan Kießling. The duo played together for almost ten years but how well do they know each other? Here is the video.
The wait for the next episode of our Werks11 podcast is nearly over. Next Tuesday is the day. The new edition was recorded on Thursday. And we can reveal this much: It’s another current Werkself player who will talk about football and also divulge details on his private life. He is tall, blond, often wears gloves and he knows cold temperatures from his home country…
The Bayer 04 Women have been the surprise package in the league this season are in the top half of the table in fifth with 20 points. One of the reasons is the big squad as head coach Achim Feifel explains in an interview in the women's football magazine 'ELFEN: "It was important to us to have two players in each position. That leads to more depth, greater competition and increased intensity in training." The full article on the Werkself Women and their new role is in the current 'ELFEN' edition #4. The magazine is available from the usual outlets now.
A special afternoon at the Bayer 04 Football Academy autumn camp: At the Liga 20 indoor football centre, in the shadow of the BayArena, two Werkself women’s team players led a training session. Loreen Bender and Selina Ostermeier not only offered the young players advice and support, but also got stuck in themselves.
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Bayer 04 came from 2-0 down to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal on Wednesday night. Edmond Tapsoba’s double either side of half-time sparked the turnaround, before Patrik Schick, Jonas Hofmann and Lucas Vázquez ensured progress to the last 16 for the 2024 cup winners.
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The Werkself have reached at least the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal in each of the last three years. The Black-and-Reds would like to make it to the final four of the competition again this season, but to do that they'll need to overcome 1. FC Nürnberg in round two, who travel to the BayArena with momentum following a successful league campaign so far. However, Bayer have a 100 percent record at home in all competitions this season - and have also won six of their last seven home matches in the Pokal. The Matchday News.
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Back at home in the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal, Bayer 04 host FC Nürnberg at the BayArena. The match against the current second-placed side in Bundesliga 2 is on Wednesday 28 October at 20:45 CET. Ahead of the game, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about his anticipation of the clash in front of a home crowd. The Spaniard also commented on a number of personnel matters, including Ibrahim Maza and Montrell Culbreath, plus the visitors’ coach, Miroslav Klose.
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Now in their third season under head coach Miroslav Klose, FC Nürnberg are among the promotion contenders in Bundesliga 2. On Wednesday 28 October (kick-off: 20:45 CET), the team currently second in the table are away to Bayer 04 in the second round of the DFB Pokal. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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