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.
After eight years in the youth set-up at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Benjamin Adam is leaving the club. The 35-year-old, who most recently coached the Leverkusen U17s, will take charge of the Hansa Rostock U19 team next season.
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There was a successful end to the women's internationals with Werkself players Carlotta Wamser and Cornelia Kramer qualifying for the 2027 World Cup finals in Brazil. A third Leverkusen player is still in with a chance of joining them. The Germany U23 players also experienced success in their last two international friendlies of the season.
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Traveling to North America for the World Cup this summer to see your favorite Bayer 04 players? Here’s a quick cheat sheet with thumbnail portraits and insider tips for each city from a local expert, so you can make the most of your visit and activities beyond the game!
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A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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