The DFB have appointed Felix Zwayer to referee the game. The 40-year-old has overseen 28 previous Leverkusen fixtures, producing 15 wins, five draws and eight defeats. His assistants are Rafael Foltyn and Marco Achmüller. Sören Storks is the VAR.
For everyone who can’t be cheering on the team from the round today, they can tune into the Werkself Radio as usual. It’s available on bayer04.de and in the new Bayer 04 app.
The Bayer 04 fan support has all you need to know on the game at the Ruhrstadion. The away seats can only be reached via the signposted visitor entrance on Castroper Straße. You cannot reach the away seating area via another entrance. Glass is also banned in and around the stadium for Bochum home games. More info HERE.
The oldest of today’s birthday boys is Oliver Page. The former central defender came through the academy to the first team in 1989/90 and made six Bundesliga appearances for the Werkself. Page is now coach of the U19s at TSV Steinbach.
Junior Fernandes turns 34 on Sunday. The left-back moved to Leverkusen in summer 2012 from Club Universidad de Chile. He made 13 appearances in his one and only season for Bayer 04. The 20-time Chile international then moved to Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia. Fernandes is back in his homeland as of this season.
The third man celebrating today is Ayman Azhil. The central midfielder has also come through the Leverkusen youth system, playing for Bayer 04 in the U17 and U19 Bundesliga. The Düsseldorf native is now on loan at Waalwijk in the Netherlands and turns 21 today. Happy birthday to you all!
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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