Bayer 04 is holding its next Members' Matchday as part of the game against Heidenheim. Fans of all ages can look forward to entertaining activities such as multiball, Bolzbox and photo boxes, bouncy castles and gaming stations in the event areas around the BayArena. Throughout the event, Bayer 04 members can enjoy discounts on jerseys and children's items during a four-day promotional period. Anyone who signs up for membership during this time will receive a stylish sweatshirt for free.
The Löwenclub is also celebrating its 30th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the new patron of the youngest Werkself fans will be presented before the match against Heidenheim.
Bayer 04 fans with a ticket for the match against Heidenheim can also take advantage of ticket discounts for fixtures involving the other teams from the Bayer sports family. For them, admission to the BayerVolleys match tomorrow evening at 20:00 CET and the Werkselfen (handball) match on Sunday at 16:00 CET costs only €5 at the box office. Both matches will take place at the Ostermann Arena.
The Werkself are yet to drop points against Heidenheim in the Bundesliga. Last season's encounters were particularly thrilling, with Patrik Schick scoring a hat-trick as Bayer 04 came from 2-0 down to win 5-2 at home. In the away fixture, Emiliano Buendía's stoppage-time strike earned the points for the Black-and-Reds. Referee Bastian Dankert is also a good omen for the preservation of that perfect Bundesliga record against FCH, as he was in charge for the aforementioned 5-2 success a year ago. What's more, it's over two and a half years since the Werkself lost two league matches in a row.
It's certainly fair to expect that Bayer 04 will have most of the control of the game. The hosts, who have played the second-most passes and have the second-best pass completion in the German top flight, meet a Heidenheim side who are second-from-bottom in both those statistics. Kasper Hjulmand's men have also the spent the second-highest amount of time in front in matches this season, the visitors the least.
After surviving relegation by the skin of their teeth, Heidenheim are struggling again this season. The team from the town on the river Brenz are currently bottom of the table after six defeats, two draws and just one win from the first nine matches. The recent 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt should give long-serving coach Frank Schmidt and his team a boost, though, with the bottom half of the table still very tight. FCH can also draw hope from the fact that their injury problems in attack are easing with the return of Marvin Pieringer, Mathias Honsak and Budu Zivzivadze. Alongside top goalscorer Stefan Schimmer (two goals), the trio's qualities going forward are desperately needed to make up for the leaky defence (17 goals conceded). Against Frankfurt, Heidenheim did at least manage to get back to their battling qualities for the first time in a while. Coach Schmidt has demanded "more courage and determination" as he knows: "If we don't make it an exciting season, then we'll be relegated." Read more about FCH in our opposition analysis.
Bayer 04 CEO Fernando Carro and Rüdiger Vollborn, the Werkself's honorary captain and record appearance maker, will honour 12 fan clubs pitchside for their loyalty on behalf of the club. The fan clubs are being recognised for 30, 35 or 40 years of commitment. Here's to many more successful seasons together!
Referee Dankert will be assisted by René Rohde and Stefan Lupp on the sidelines. Lukas Benen is fourth official and Sascha Stegemann the video assistant.
Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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