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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Swiss goalkeeper Jonas Omlin from Borussia Mönchengladbach. The 32-year-old joins the Werkself from the Lower Rhine Bundesliga club on loan to the end of the current season. This is the reaction of Bayer 04 to the injury to first choice keeper Mark Flekken, who faces a long spell on the sidelines.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Jonas Omlin. Bayer 04 have signed the 32-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach until the end of the season. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes described the Swiss shot stopper, signed by the Werkself in reaction to the long-term absence of first choice keeper Mark Flekken, as an "internationally experienced keeper." Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the new signing, who will wear the number 18 jersey.
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Lucas Vázquez was the hero in Saturday's 1-0 home win against Werder Bremen, when the Spaniard scored his first Bundesliga goal to secure an important victory for Leverkusen. The 34-year-old right-sided recently met up with the Werkself magazine for an interview in the Düsseldorf restaurant Casa Galicia after the first few months of settling in to his new home in Germany. Over tapas, the five-time Champions League winner, who left Real Madrid in the summer after 18 years to continue his career at Bayer 04, spoke about his career to date, the new challenge in Leverkusen and the importance of family - and he paid a big compliment to the fans of his new club.
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