Beware! There is currently one notable statistic in the league that makes people sit up but also may serve as a warning: The team placed second in the Bundesliga have not won for ten matchdays. Hopefully that will change this weekend. Bayer 04 are in the runners-up spot for the first time since September 2014.
If Bayer 04 beat Mainz on Sunday then the Werkself will have equalled a new club record. In the last 24 Bundesliga fixtures, Leverkusen have scored at least one goal in every game and that equals the previous best in the 1999/2000 league campaign.
Games involving Bayer 04 have a high entertainment value: The matches involving Heiko Herrlich's team have produced the most goals this season: There is an average of 3.5 goals per game (39 goals scored and 27 conceded). Leon Bailey has had the most efforts on opposition goals: The Jamaican has had 42 shots and scored seven goals.
There could be two landmarks for the Werkself in the match against Mainz: Kevin Volland, the top Bayer 04 scorer with ten goals, is on the verge of his 50th Bundesliga goal (16 for Bayer 04, 33 for Hoffenheim), The skipper Lars Bender is on the verge of 100 victories in Germany's top flight.
The match against Mainz 05 offers plenty of chances for reunions. Julian Baumgartlinger played for Mainz between 2011 and 2016 (124 Bundesliga appearances, two goals) and he was even captain at FSV in 2015/16. In the 4-1 win at Hoffenheim, he scored his first competitive goal for Bayer 04. On the Mainz side, René Adler, the currently injured goalkeeper, has an extensive Leverkusen past: The shot-stopper played for the Werkself from 2000 to 2012 and went on to play for Germany during that period. Right back Giulio Donati (43 Bundesliga games from 2013-16) and Levin Öztunali (15 Bundesliga games from 2013-14) also played for the Black and Reds.
It is now a tradition after Bundesliga home games for the Werkself for well-known visitors to call into the Schwadbud after the final whistle to discuss the action on the pitch with stadium announcer Tobias Ufer, fan liaison officers Rüdiger Vollborn and Frank Linde plus a supporter. This time, Lars Bender is the guest at #W11Fantalk. If you have any questions for the Werkself captain, who has just extended his contract to 2021, please send them in via Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #W11Fantalk. It kicks off between 18.00 and 18..15 CET.
A cracker of a semi-final at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Bayer 04 U19 team entertain Bayern Munich on Saturday, 10 May (kick-off: 11:00 CEST/stadium opens: 10:00 CEST). In front of a home crowd, the team led by head coach Sergi Runge, who welcomes back an attacking player, is looking to build on the battling performances from the previous knockout games and "perform at the right moment." Tickets are available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the game will also be broadcast live on Sky.
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Bayer 04 have now gone 33 Bundesliga away games in succession without defeat and thereby equalled the record set by Bayern Munich: Jonathan Tah netted the equaliser at 2-2 in added time away to SC Freiburg on his 400th appearance for the Werkself. SCF took a 2-0 lead with a strike from Maximilian Eggestein (44') and a Piero Hincapie own goal (48') before Florian Wirtz pulled a goal back on 82 minutes.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-2 draw at SC Freiburg on the 32nd matchday of the Bundesliga 2024/25...
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The Werkself are away to SC Freiburg on Bundesliga Matchday 32. The penultimate away game of the season is today Sunday, 4 May with a 17:30 CEST kick-off at the Europa Park Stadion. Read on for the latest information in today's matchday news.
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