
The match referee is Frank Willenborg from Osnabrück. The secondary school teacher will be assisted on the sidelines by Sven Jablonski and Christoph Bornhorst. Florian Heft is the fourth official.
Last meeting
The Werkself and FCI have met twice in the top flight. Bayer 04 came out on top in both games: There was a 1-0 away win and a 3-2 victory in the return match at the BayArena in the second half of the season.
Good record against teams in the drop zone
The Werkself have not lost any of the past 15 home games against a team in the bottom two - eleven wins and four draws is the record to date. And Bayer 04 have not conceded in the previous four of those games.
Sunday success
Bayer 04 have won the last four Sunday fixtures in the Bundesliga without conceding. The last time the Werkself let in a goal on a Sunday was in a 3-1 defeat at Mainz in February 2016. Stefan Kießling loves playing on a Sunday: At Schalke he scored goal number 32 in Sunday game in the Bundesliga taking him past Ailton (31) to be the record goalscorer in the Bundesliga on that day of the week. The club legend is a doubt ahead of this weekend’s game due to a muscle problem.
Friends reunited
Goalkeeper Rambo Özcan and right back Danny da Costa were promoted to the Bundesliga last season with FC Ingolstadt and they moved on to the Werkself in the summer of 2016 after securing top-flight status fir FCI. Sunday will be the first time the duo have been reunited with their former team-mates.
Christmas stalls
The Bayer 04 Christmas Market at the BayArena is open again for this fixture with three stalls in areas F1, B1 and B4. Warming hot drinks and savoury treats are on offer.
#W11Fantalk with Kevin Kampl
Kevin Kampl will answer supporters’ questions just after the game on Sunday at about 20.00 CET at the #W11Fantalk in the Schwadbud. You can put your questions now via Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #W11Fantalk.
Fan club celebration
They are pioneers for all Bayer 04 fan clubs: During the half-time break on Sunday, CEO Michael Schade and sporting director Rudi Völler will mark the 40th anniversary of the First Fanclub 1976 Leverkusen – as well as the 20 years since the founding of the Djangos fan club.


It took exactly 60 minutes for the Werkself to take the lead through a perfectly finished counter-attack by Patrik Schick in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off at Olympiacos. Referring to the meeting in the league phase and the initially squandered opportunities, coach Kasper Hjulmand said afterwards: "I thought: 'Oh no, déjà-vu.'" But after the opening goal, it took just 144 seconds for the Czech to spark more wild celebrations among those in black and red in the Greek cauldron, when Schick nodded in Alejandro Grimaldo's corner. Much to the delight of the Bayer 04 fans, his teammates and his coach, who had warm words for the striker in the aftermath. The Werkself Review.
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Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
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The Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.
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Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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