Both teams are without a key midfielder due to suspension. World Cup winner Exequiel Palacios will sit this one out after picking up his fifth yellow card of the campaign against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. Bochum are without their second-best goalscorer in Kevin Stöger for the same reason.
The history books show that the Werkself have won 19 of their 28 Bundesliga home meetings with the Ruhr club (D4, L5) and have scored in each of the last 19. It is the club’s best ongoing scoring run at home to a current Bundesliga opponent. The average over the 28 games is 1.9 Leverkusen goals.
Bochum are battling to stay in the Bundesliga once again this season after surviving the drop in the last two years. Their record so far this term is 16 points from 15 games, placing them 14th in the table, six points above the automatic relegation spots. The Ruhr club’s strengths are in the air, where they are joint leaders in the division for challenges won with 409. However, their accuracy with the ball at their feet is the worst in the league at only 74.9 percent. Bochum have conceded 29 goals to the Werkself’s 12, which is the fewest of all teams. You can find out more about today’s opponents in our profile piece.
On the grounds surrounding the BayArena, there are numerous Christmas activities for young and old today, including a children's carousel (see map).
Today's game has once again been declared a district matchday. Over the past few days and weeks, all residents of Küppersteg have been able to enjoy activities organised by and with the Werkself. The highlight was the school visit to the GGS Kerschensteinerschule, including a nutrition workshop in which Bayer 04 players Gustavo Puerta and Verena Wieder also took part. Sports nutrition coach Lena Kadlec led the workshop and explained to the children how important a healthy diet is for recovery, energy levels, health and growth.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at today's game. The audio broadcast in German begins 30 minutes before kick-off. 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 on bayer04.de and in the Bayer 04 app.
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 HERE.
The German FA (DFB) have appointed Daniel Schlager as today’s referee. The 34-year-old has previously overseen eight Werkself fixtures, with four wins, two draws and two defeats. His assistants are Sven Waschitzki-Günther and Arno Blos, with Matthias Jöllenbeck as VAR.
Given it’s the final game of the year, we’re inviting fans at the BayArena to stay a few minutes longer than usual after the final whistle. Two Christmas carols will be sung together with the team, backroom staff and fans to enjoy a festive and atmospheric end to the year together. The shuttle buses for the return transfer to the car parks and public transport stations will therefore be running 10 minutes later than usual so that all fans can sing along without worrying about getting home.
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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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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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
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After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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