
Leverkusen are unbeaten on their last three visits to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK. A Patrik Schick brace inside 11 minutes helped the Werkself to a 3-2 victory on Matchday 16 last season. And they've already tasted victory in the Ruhr region this season, Ibrahim Maza's goal sending the Black and Reds through to the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup. It appears unlikely there'll only be one goal again in this next encounter between the league's second-best (BVB, 60 goals) and third-best (B04, 58 goals) attacks.
On the subject of attack, no team in the German top flight have hit the back of the net more often than Bayer 04 over the last four matchdays (13 goals). One player who again has been crucial to that is Alejandro Grimaldo, who bagged his third brace of the campaign in the 6-3 win against VfL Wolfsburg on Easter weekend. The Spaniard would certainly like to add to his tally against second-placed Dortmund, a club he's never scored against.
However, Dortmund also demonstrated their attacking class in the last-gasp victory at Stuttgart. Niko Kovac's side are currently enjoying the third-best Bundesliga campaign in the club's history in terms of points and look set to take the runners-up spot, sitting nine points behind leaders FC Bayern Munich and 11 ahead of RB Leipzig and Stuttgart in third and fourth. The Black and Yellows have had problems against better opponents, though, and have already bowed out of the DFB Cup and UEFA Champions League. That makes a win at home to the Werkself even more important, but BVB will have to do without one of their main attacking players on Saturday as forward Karim Adeyemi is suspended following his fifth yellow card of the campaign. There's more on Dortmund's team news and form in our in-depth opposition profile.

The match will be overseen by experienced referee Deniz Aytekin. The Werkself have lost 15 of the 42 encounters involving the 47-year-old. Ayketin was previously in the middle for Leverkusen's first league win of the current campaign against Eintracht Frankfurt (3-1). The Nuremberg native will be assisted in Dortmund by Christian Leicher and Martin Thomsen on the sidelines, and Pascal Müller as VAR.

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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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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