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!
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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