Leipzig are currently on a longer losing run against Bayer 04 than against any other Bundesliga team, with the Werkself winning the last three league encounters. After a 2-0 victory in the second half of the 2022/23 season, there were two hard-fought 3-2 successes last term.
The spectators can expect another exciting contest today, where a number of players will also be facing their ex-club. Bayer 04 striker Patrik Schick, for example, spent the 2019/20 season with the Saxony club, while Nordi Mukiele, in Leipzig from 2018 to 2022, has just joined the Werkelf. Leipzig duo Kevin Kampl and Benjamin Henrichs, meanwhile, spent a number of years in the Bayer 04 youth teams and later also played at professional level for the Black-and-Reds.
Leipzig boast an impressive squad once again this season. Not only is the starting line-up packed with quality, but there's plenty of danger on the bench too. Take new signing Antonio Nusa, who is proving to be something of a super-sub so far. The Norwegian scored the winning goal four minutes after his introduction against VfL Bochum on Matchday 1, having taken just 74 seconds for his first goal in the cup against Rot-Weiss Essen a week earlier. Nusa adds to an already potent Leipzig attack containing Lois Openda, Benjamin Sesko and Xavi Simons. Marco Rose's side will be without captain Willi Orban today, however, as the centre-back was sent off against Bochum. There's more on our opponents in our in-depth analysis.
As part of today's Bundesliga match, the works club will appoint its former captain Jens Nowotny as honorary captain. The former Werkself defender thus joins the prestigious circle of seven club legends to date who are officially authorised to represent Bayer 04 in this special role.
The Bayer 04 honorary captains are: Rüdiger Vollborn, Bernd Schneider, Ulf Kirsten, Carsten Ramelow, Simon Rolfes, Stefan Kießling, Lars Bender, Jens Nowotny.
The Bayer 04 legends team have emulated Xabi Alonso's first team and claimed the German over-40 championship last weekend. Stefan Kießling, Patrick Helmes and Co won the DFB-Ü40-Cup in dramatic style in the last second i nBerlin.
The legends team will be honoured for this great achievement during the half-time break today.
Like they did in the cup match at Jena, the Werkself will wear black armbands for today's meeting in memory of Christoph Daum, the former Werkself coach who passed away at the age of 70 last Saturday. There will also be a minute's silence before kick-off.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Dr. Matthias Jöllenbeck as the referee for the match against RB Leipzig. The 37-year-old has taken charge of five competitive games involving the Werkself to date, with a record of three wins and two defeats. Assisting Jöllenbeck today are Mark Borsch and Marcel Pelgrim on the lines and Tobias Welz as VAR.
Tonight's match is being broadcast live on Sky. As ever, there's also live text and radio commentary via bayer04.de and the Bayer 04 app (in German).
Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
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The Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.
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Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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