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.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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"In every ending lies a new beginning" is a well-known saying. This phrase has probably never been more apt at Bayer 04. After winning the Bundesliga in 2023/24 and finishing as runners-up in 2024/25, the summer was the most eventful ever in terms of transfers. Over ten players and the coach, including the coaching staff, left the club. A lot of the heroes of the double-winning side began a new chapter. It was the end of an era. And at the same time the beginning of a new, very exciting and promising chapter for Leverkusen. The Werkself welcomed more than a dozen new arrivals, including experienced title-winners and young talents, to build a new "foundation for a successful team capable of winning titles" under the Bayer Cross, as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. A new spirit, a new hunger, a new story was to be created. Bayer04.de looks back at the first few months of this story and the final act of the preseason.
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43 points at the end of the last Bundesliga season were not only more than ever before for the Bayer 04 Women, but also led to a record fourth-place finish. That was followed by a Hinrunde with many more victories, but also some setbacks. In an interview with bayer04.de, sporting director Achim Feifel takes stock at the end of the year.
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With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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A record-breaking year ends for the Bayer 04 Women. Fourth place, 13 wins and 43 points in the 2024/25 campaign - the Werkself have never been so good in the Bundesliga. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team also had plenty of reasons to celebrate in the first half of the new Bundesliga season - although there were also a few disappointments. A look back at 2025 for the Bayer 04 Women’s team.
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