Lowdown on the opponents:
The Dutch club FC Utrecht are currently sixth in the Eredivisie. There are currently two Germans at Utrecht: Leon Guwara, formerly a player in the Bundesliga with SV Darmstadt, and Rico Strieder, who went through the youth ranks at FC Bayern for 12 years and played one game for the first team: He was left-back for the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 defeat for the record champions at Bayer 04 on 2 May 2015. Justin Hoogma is also part of the Utrecht squad this season on loan from Hoffenheim. The coach of the Dutch club is John van den Brom.
The van den Brom team have three games to play before the winter break starts. Utrecht visit Heracles Almelo on Sunday before playing FC Groningen in the second round of the Dutch cup competition four days later. FC Utrecht end 2019 with a league home game against Feyenoord.
FC St. Gallen, the reinvigorated big club from eastern Switzerland, have been managed by the German head coach Peter Zeigler since 2018. FC St. Gallen are in touch with the leading group in the Swiss Raiffeisen Super League with 35 points from 17 games behind reigning champions Young Boys Bern (37) and FC Basel (36). The fact St. Gallen are currently in third place is no coincidence as the team recently demonstrated. They have secured three 4-1 wins in the last three league games. That means the team coached by Zeigler, whose last job in Germany was at Stuttgarter Kickers over a decade ago in 2007, currently have the best attack in the league with 41 goals scored
There is also a German player at FC St. Gallen. Midfielder Lucas Görtler, who played for FC Utrecht last season, was signed by the Swiss club this summer and he was previously at FC Kaiserslautern from 2015 to 2017. FC St. Gallen have their last league game of the year on Saturday: They entertain fourth-placed FC Zürich.
Bayer 04 make their first trip to Poland for over 30 years as they face Lech Poznan on Matchday 2 of the league phase in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. The game kicks off at 18:45 CEST on Thursday, but the team will be preparing for the action on Wednesday with training, travel and pre-match press conferences. We’ll bring you all the latest news here…
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Bayer 04 remain unbeaten in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. After winning the opener against NK Celje, the Werkself followed that up on Thursday night with a 4–0 win away at the Polish champions Lech Poznan. Patrik Schick, who came on as a substitute early in the game, scored twice from the penalty spot, and Malik Tillman also found the back of the net before half-time. The second half was a more subdued affair, with Ibrahim Maza scoring late on to seal the final 4-0 scoreline.
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Since 2023, Bayer 04 has been organising regular free goalkeeping coach training sessions at the BayArena. As in previous years, the event attracted enormous interest in mid-October 2026. Around 140 participants – mostly goalkeeping coaches from the region, but also team and academy coaches as well as association staff – came to the Werkself stadium to gain expert knowledge on the subject of zonal marking. Through a theoretical keynote presentation and a practical session on the pitch, the participants gained insights into goalkeeping and goalkeeper training at Bayer 04.
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A first for the Werkself: Today, Thursday 15 October (kick-off: 18:45 CEST), Bayer 04 face Lech Poznan for the first time on matchday 2 in the UEFA Europa League group. Although the Black and Reds have a flawless record against the only Polish opposition faced before, they must not underestimate the attacking ability and goal-scoring threat of the reigning champions from Poznan. Lech’s squad also includes two former Bundesliga players. Today's matchday news.
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