Back
11.05.2025Bundesliga

Matchday news #B04BVB: Goodbyes at final home game

Bayer 04 host Borussia Dortmund in their final home game of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. The Matchday 33 encounter this Sunday (3.30pm CEST) is a sell-out at the BayArena, which will say goodbye to several players like Jonathan Tah and also coach Xabi Alonso. Here’s all you need to know ahead of this crucial game for both teams.
BayArena

Pre-match farewells

“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.

#B04BVB – Match facts

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.

Focus on Dortmund

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.

Aytekin in charge

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.

Related News

Fanwelt
Fans - 30.06.2025

Fanwelt closed on 30 June

To all Bayer 04 fans: The Fanwelt will be closed all day next Monday 30 June. This is due to preparations for the change of kit supplier from Castore to New Balance on Tuesday 1 July.

Show more
Julie Jorde
Women - 28.06.2025

Julie Jorde makes permanent move to Brøndby IF

The Norway U23 international Julie Jorde has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Brøndby IF. The twelve-time champions of Denmark have signed the midfielder on permanent terms after her loan move from the Bundesliga to Denmark in the winter.

Show more
Bayer 04
Bayer 04 - 28.06.2025

Not the first time at the BayArena: Profile of Abdoulaye Faye

It is almost two years since Bayer 04 new signing Abdoulaye Faye first stepped foot into the BayArena as a player for the Swedish club BK Häcken in the opening match in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign. A day before his nineteenth birthday, the central defender did not play in the 4-0 win for the Werkself but it was "an incredible night" for him on 21 September 2023 as he explained in his first interview on bayer04.de. "I watched the players and saw the fans. I liked it." It was also the first European night early on in his career. He only joined the then champions of Sweden in the cold north of Europe from his home in Senegal a few weeks before that special moment. Bayer04.de profiles our new defender.

Show more
Abdoulaye Faye wechselt zu Bayer 04 | Erstes Interview
Werkself-TV - 27.06.2025

Faye: ‘Bayer 04 are the best team for my development’

Welcome, Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old Senegalese central defender joins Leverkusen from top-flight Swedish club BK Häcken. In his first interview he talks about his move to Bayer 04 and his targets with the Werkself.

Show more
Faye und Falkenberg
Bayer 04 - 27.06.2025

Bayer 04 sign Senegalese central defender Faye

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed the Senegalese central defender Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old joins the Bundesliga side from Swedish top-flight club BK Häcken. Faye has penned a contract at Leverkusen to 30 June 2030.

Show more