This is the 25th time the Werkself will face Augsburg in the Bundesliga. The head-to-head record is very much in favour of the Black and Reds. Augsburg’s average points haul against Bayer 04 is their second-worst against any opponent in the top flight. However, the Bavarians won both encounters last season, which were in fact their first two victories over Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
Augsburg sit bottom of the Bundesliga table this season for possession (41.2%) and also play on average the fewest passes per game (366). The Werkself are top in terms of both passes per 90 minutes (673) and most passes completed per game (596), while Xabi Alonso’s men rank second for possession (60.7%).
The Werkself will enjoy plenty of support in their opening game of the year with 2,300 Leverkusen fans making the journey to Bavaria to cheer on Alonso’s side. That total is over three times more than the club’s previous highest number of supporters for a game in Augsburg (647 last season).
For those supporters in attendance, the Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team has summarised everything you need to know about today’s game in Augsburg HERE, including information on how to get there and who to speak to if required.
In honour of the recently deceased Franz Beckenbauer, a minute’s silence will be held at all football matches across Germany this weekend, as well as in the DFB-Pokal, which the Kaiser won four times as a player. The German football legend, who won the World Cup as a player (1974) and manager (1990), passed away last Sunday at the age of 78.
Augsburg have enjoyed a big improvement since Jess Thorup took over as coach in October. The Bavarians had only five points from their first seven games under Enrico Maaßen and had also been knocked out of the cup in the first round by third division Unterhaching. Augsburg remained unbeaten in the Dane’s first six games at the helm, earning 12 of a possible 18 points to climb from 15th to ninth in the table. They had a slight dip at the end of the year with only one point from their final three matches, with the defeats at Werder Bremen (2-0) and VfB Stuttgart (3-0) the first under Thorup’s watch. Augsburg got back to winning ways with a 1-0 friendly triumph over Hoffenheim last week. Although it counted for nothing, it was the team’s first clean sheet of this season. They are yet to manage that in a competitive fixture in 2023/24. You can find out more about today’s opponents in our profile piece.
The German FA (DFB) have appointed Sven Jablonski as today’s referee. The 33-year-old has overseen 12 Werkself fixtures across all competitions before, with eight wins, one draw and three defeats. His assistants are Lasse Koslowski and Dominik Schaal. The VAR is Daniel Siebert.
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 update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available on bayer04.de and in the Bayer 04 app.
Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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Fun, games and promising talent: At the fourth Bayer 04 Junior Girls’ Talent Day at the Kurtekotten training centre, 90 football-mad girls had the chance to put themselves forward for the Werkself youth teams. During a 90-minute training session, children born between 2011 and 2019 had the chance to demonstrate their skills.
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Despite the international break, numerous Werkself fans turned up at the BayArena on Saturday 3 October. The occasion: Bayer 04, together with Bayer Vital and main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer, organised a Health Day. In the stadium’s Premium Lounge, guests listened to fascinating talks on the subject of cancer, featuring, amongst others, Bayer 04 record appearance holder Rüdiger Vollborn and former Werkself player Hans Sarpei. Afterwards, young and old alike enjoyed interactive stations such as a grip strength test and eye pupil test.
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In issue #56 of Werkself Magazine, Afonso Moreira offers some interesting insights into his home country, Portugal, as part of the ‘Sag mal’ (Tell me) feature. Among other things, the 21-year-old talks about his favourite places in the country on the Iberian Peninsula, the local cuisine and music, as well as heroes and historical figures beyond the world of football. ‘Sag mal’ with Afonso Moreira!
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