“I’m looking forward to one more great moment together with the fans,” Alonso said at Friday’s press conference after he announced he’d be leaving Bayer 04 at the end of the season. The Spaniard will be given an official goodbye from the club ahead of the game following two-and-a-half years in charge. Loanees Nordi Mukiele (Paris Saint-Germain), Mario Hermoso (Roma) and Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa) will also say farewell alongside vice-captain Jonathan Tah. The defender has been with the club since 2015 and has made 400 competitive appearances in red and black to sit sixth on the club’s all-time list.
It’ll be an important fixture for both teams. Dortmund are battling to get into the top four and qualify for the UEFA Champions League, while Leverkusen are aiming to keep on track for the second-best season in the club’s history. They need to win today and in Mainz on the final day to achieve that.
The Werkself come into the game unbeaten in their last seven in the Bundesliga (W4, D3), which is now longest run in the division after Union Berlin’s defeat on Saturday. But Borussia are also unbeaten in six (W5, D1) and boast the best record over the last six matchdays with 16 points. They kick off the game in fifth place, which is their highest position since Matchday 13.
Bayer 04 won the reverse fixture in Dortmund 3-2 and are now out to do the double over BVB for the first time since 2006/07. However, it’s been three games since the Werkself beat Borussia at the BayArena.
Borussia are undoubtedly hitting their stride at the right time. They were stagnating in mid-table a few weeks back, having dropped as low as 11th place. Defending has been an issue, with eight teams having conceded fewer goals. But attacking has been typically fine for BVB with 64 goals scored, trailing only Bayern Munich (93) and Bayer 04 (68) in the pre-Matchday 33 charts. Find out more about our opponents here.
The German FA (DFB) have appointed Deniz Aytekin to oversee Sunday’s game. The 46-year-old has previously taken charge of 39 Bundesliga fixtures involving the Werkself (W17, D9, L13). His assistants are Eduard Beitinger and Dominik Schaal. Tobias Welz is the VAR.
Job done: the Bayer 04 eSports team defeated SV Darmstadt 98 in the play-offs to secure their consecutive participation in the VBL Club Championship final. The journey continues now for Leverkusen on Saturday 7 March (from 17:00 CET) with a last-16 encounter at Hamburger SV.
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The first international break in 2026 marks the start of the battle to qualify for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil for a German and Austrian duo, while a quintet will conclude the U23 international season. A total of eight Leverkusen players will be on international duty with their national teams in the coming days.
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Werkself TV shows highlights of the 0-0 draw against Olympiacos in the second leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
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In addition to the joy of reaching the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, the Werkself were particularly pleased with their next clean sheet and their focussed defensive performance. Although there was self-criticism after the 0-0 draw against Olympiacos in the play-off second leg, Jonas Hofmann aptly summed the position after the game: "What counts in knockout matches is going through." And one young man in particular will not forget this game in a hurry. The Werkself review.
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A disciplined defensive performance in the second leg saw Bayer 04 prevail against Olympiacos in the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. Thanks to the 2-0 away win in the first leg, the goalless draw at home at the BayArena was enough to ensure progress to the next round. The Black and Reds kept their opponents away from their goal for the best part of 90 minutes.
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