The Werkself’s most recent competitive defeat came in Bochum on Matchday 34 of last season. Leverkusen have since gone 49 fixtures in all competitions without a loss. Should Xabi Alonso’s side return home without defeat again today, they would become only the third team in Bundesliga history to complete a campaign without losing away from home, after the Bayern Munich sides of 1986/87 and 2012/13.
However, the Werkself will come up against a tough nut to crack in Bochum, who lead the Bundesliga in statistics such as challenges and aerial duels won. VfL have also won 13 points more at home (23) than they’ve done on their travels (10). The hosts also need a result here for their own cause. They can no longer face automatic relegation, but a loss will still leave them at risk of having to contest the play-off to stay up.
The Ruhr club have been battling hard to ensure their survival, claiming a thrilling 4-3 win away at Union Berlin last week. Interim head coach Heiko Butscher called the relegation six-pointer a “really mad football game that showed what football’s about and why it’s a sport we love so much”. Butscher took over the side from Thomas Letsch some four weeks ago and has earned seven points in four games, which is one more than the team had managed in the previous 10 outings. VfL beat Hoffenheim 3-2 at home the week before, meaning they have recorded back-to-back victories for the first time this season and first time in over a year. Find out more about Bochum in our opposition profile.
The Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team has summarised everything the 2,800 Leverkusen fans travelling to Bochum need to know HERE.
The German FA (DFB) has appointed Benjamin Brand as the referee in Bochum. The 34-year-old has overseen seven previous Bayer 04 fixtures, producing five wins, a draw and one defeat. Brand’s assistants are Thomas Stein and Martin Thomsen. The VAR is Tobias Welz.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at today's game. The audio broadcast in German begins 30 minutes before kick-off. In addition, the live text commentary will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Werkself Radio and the live text commentary are both available on bayer04.de and in the Bayer 04 app.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time in almost eight years. Although the Hanseatic city team are often below par on the road, they are regularly in top form in front of their own fans. In particular, 18-year-old shooting star Luka Vuskovic is proving to be a real bonus for Merlin Polzin's team, both in attack and defence. However, that should not scare the Werkself: Not only was the last defeat against the newly promoted team 17 games ago, but Kasper Hjulmand's players are in with a chance of securing their fifth win in six games against HSV. Today’s matchday news.
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Hamburger SV and Bayer 04 meet again in the Bundesliga for the first time in almost eight years. This Tuesday evening, 13 January (kick-off: 20:30 CET), the promoted team with impressive home form welcome the Werkself to the Volksparkstadion to round off the Hinrunde. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The Werkself are away to Hamburg SV at the end of the Hinrunde in the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. The match at the newly promoted club is on Tuesday night, 13 January (kick-off: 20:30 CET). Ahead of the first encounter with HSV since 2018, Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the strengths of the opponents, lessons learnt from the home defeat against VfB Stuttgart and provided a squad update.
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