In jüngster Vergangenheit lieferten sich die Werkself und der VfB Stuttgart immer wieder hochklassige und hart umkämpfte Duelle. Die Schwaben lag in jedem der fünf Pflichtspiele unter Sebastien Hoeneß gegen Bayer 04 zwischenzeitlich in Führung. Am Ende aber gab es entweder ein Remis oder die Werkself hatte die Nase vorn. Leverkusen ist unter anderem deswegen seit 13 Duellen gegen den VfB ungeschlagen. Und überhaupt holte Stuttgart aus den vergangenen 27 Pflichtspielen gegen Schwarz-Rot nur einen Sieg.
Außergewöhnlich ist zudem dieser Fakt: Die heutige Begegnung mit den Schwaben ist die fünfte innerhalb der letzten elf Monate und darüber hinaus die vierte in Folge, die in Leverkusen stattfindet (nach Rückrunden-Spiel, DFB-Pokal-Viertelfinale, Supercup).
The eighth-placed team (on twelve points, three behind Bayer 04) come to Leverkusen in confident mood. They have recently won three games on the bounce. Three important points in the UEFA Champions League away to Juventus (1-0) was followed by a 2-1 win in the Bundesliga against Holstein Kiel and a couple of days ago a 2-1 victory in the DFB Pokal against FC Kaiserslautern. The league win against newly promoted Kiel was the 29th win in 50 Bundesliga games for Sebastian Hoeneß as the coach at VfB Stuttgart. He has thereby equalled a club record with no other VfB coach winning more often in their first 50 games. Further information on VfB can be found in our lowdown on the next opponents.
The City of Leverkusen asks all spectators coming to today's Bundesliga game to travel by public transport, bicycle or on foot. Further information (in German) can be found HERE on the Stadt Leverkusen website.
Mouth open, swab in, become a donor – and then get behind the Werkself! The charity organisation Nordkurve karitativ, in partnership with DKMS (German Bone Marrow Donor Registry), are holding a stem cell donor registration event at the home game against VfB Stuttgart. The aim is motivate as many fans as possible to register as a stem cell donor with DKMS. The donor registration event will be held in front of blocks B, C, D, E and F where there will also be a stand providing information on organ donations. Further information is available HERE.
Anyone wanting to discover the latest information ahead of the cup tie can take a look at the new Werkself Live. The matchday magazine, that includes key facts and stats on the match, is available at the BayArena. Alternatively it is available free online. HERE is the e-paper.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Daniel Siebert for tonight's match. The 40-year-old referee has previously been in charge of 25 games involving the Werkself (ten wins, seven draws, eight defeats). Siebert's assistants today are Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn with Benjamin Cortus in action as the VAR.
The match will be broadcast live on DAZN. As ever, supporters unable to be at the match can follow the game on Werkself Radio. The audio broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Niko Hartmann and Cedric Pick. In addition, the live text update service will keep fans up-to-date. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
Bayer 04 have agreed a loan move for U19s striker Ken Izekor to join Bundesliga 2 club Eintracht Braunschweig on loan for the rest of the 2025/26 season.
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Bayer 04 have agreed a loan deal for Jeanuel Belocian to join fellow Bundesliga club Wolfsburg on loan until the end of the season. The 20-year-old defender’s contract in Leverkusen runs until 30 June 2029.
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After Leverkusen's eSports team spectacularly won the first showdown in the history of the VBL Club Championship last year, two rather sobering editions followed with two early exits. Now, in Showdown Four, cousins Marc and Sean Landwehr have once again made it into the offline knockout phase. And in this phase, Bochum awaits on Monday, 2 February (live on the VBL's Twitch channel from 16:00 CET). Here's a look at their opponents and what might happen next.
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SAB-P GmbH is to become Bayer 04 Leverkusen's first official inclusion partner. The company, which has previously been involved in the club's Business Club, is underlining its social commitment to inclusion with an agreement that runs until 31 May 2027. Among other things, it will be the shirt sponsor of the Inclusion Team from the 2026/27 season onwards.
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The Werkself were impressive in the 3-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt with clinical finishing and a first half "at a high level" that head coach Kasper Hjulmand draws a lot of positives from. The same should apply to Arthur, who scored for the first time in the Bundesliga. Edmond Tapsoba, for his part, was happy about his 250th appearance in a Bayer 04 jersey. "I think we're slowly finding our feet again," said goalscorer Malik Tillman, summing up the performance. The Werkself review.
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