This game sees two teams in contrasting form face off. While the Werkself have won nine of their 10 Bundesliga games so far this season, Union have lost each of the last eight. The head-to-head record is also in favour of Leverkusen, having lost only one of 11 previous competitive encounters (six wins, four draws).
Bayer 04 are calling for food donations for the Leverkusener Tafel. We therefore ask our fans to get involved and contribute food. Prior to kick-off, the club will be accepting donations at the collection points in the East (B1/B2) and North-West (entrance area near the Stelzen motorway) areas of the stadium from 13:30. You can find more information and a detailed list of the food required HERE. If you have any further questions, you can contact us by e-mail (soziales@bayer04.de) or by phone ((+49) 0214 8660 273).
Due to construction work, the RE7 and RE48 lines are currently not running at Leverkusen Opladen station. There will be a rail replacement service for fans travelling via this station.
The Berlin club are currently 16th in the Bundesliga table with six points from 10 games. The Köpenickers have managed just one solidary draw from their last 13 competitive fixtures, also losing their last eight in a row in the league. It is Union’s worst start to a Bundesliga season since first reaching this level in 2019. During the week they claimed a surprise 1-1 draw away at Napoli in the UEFA Champions League. An end to their 12-game losing run will have given the team confidence to turn around their form. You can find out more about our opponents in lowdown.
In co-operation with RWTH Aachen University, Bayer 04 will conduct a survey on fan travel today. The survey is aimed at all stadium visitors and will take place on site at the BayArena as well as digitally via an online questionnaire. Traffic counts will also be carried out at various junctions. Participation in the survey would be of great importance for optimising climate-friendly mobility. Further information can be found HERE.
The second district matchday of the season will also take place today against Union. Over the past few days and weeks, everyone in Quettingen has been able to enjoy activities organised by and with the Werkself. The highlight was the penalty shootout tournament between Opladen and Quettingen, which was also attended by club representative Stefan Kießling, Bayer 04 men’s player Ayman Aourir and women’s player Sofia Cava Marin. All information about the district match days can be found HERE.
Anyone wanting to read key information before the game should take a look at the new Werkself Live. The matchday programme, offering the most important facts and stats on the game in compact form, is available at the BayArena. Alternatively it is available free online. Click HERE for the e-paper.
The German FA (DFB) has appointed Timo Gerach as today’s referee. The 36-year-old has previously overseen one competitive fixture involving Leverkusen, which was the 2-0 win at home to Bochum last season. Gerach’s assistants are Florian Heft and Dominik Schaal. The VAR is Bastian Dankert.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at today's game. The audio broadcast begins 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Niko Hartmann and Cedric Pick. In addition, the live text update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Two Saturdays, one Friday and one Sunday: The dates for the Bayer 04 Women's team games on matchdays 16 to 19 have been finalised. Three of the four matches scheduled by the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday will be played at home at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium.
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Bayer 04 currently have a number of promising young talents on loan to various clubs in Europe with the aim of gaining match practice and furthering their individual development. Francis Onyeka and Farid Alfa-Ruprecht, for example, play for VfL Bochum 1848, while Artem Stepanov is a striker with 1. FC Nürnberg, coached by World Cup winner Miroslav Klose. Tim Oermann is a defender in the Austrian Bundesliga at top club SK Sturm Graz and Abdoulaye Faye is playing in France for FC Lorient, promoted to Ligue 1 this season. Bayer04.de reviews the first six months for the Leverkusen players out on loan.
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Despite a courageous display, the Bayer 04 Women missed out on a surprise at the start of the second half of the Bundesliga season. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team lost 3-0 to league leaders Bayern Munich on Monday night. An early goal from the clinical visitors, a disputed penalty and another spot-kick prevented Leverkusen, who are seventh in the table on 22 points from 14 games, from picking up a point in front of 3,011 spectators at the sold-out Ulrich Haberland Stadium.
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