
This isn’t actually the first time Leverkusen have gone to Munich with the hosts boasting a perfect eight wins from eight in the Bundesliga. It previously happened almost exactly 13 years ago, when Sascha Lewandowski’s team snatched a late 2-1 win through Sidney Sam to inflict the first league loss of 2012/13 on the eventual treble winners.
Recent form in this fixture also bodes well for the Werkself, who are unbeaten in their last five Bundesliga fixtures against Bayern. On top of that, Kasper Hjulmand has set a new club record for most points from the first six Bundesliga matches in charge. Fans in the ground and watching on TV around the world can look forward to a high-class encounter, given both Bayern and Leverkusen lead the division for possession and passing accuracy.
It’s been a record start to the campaign for Bayern, whose 4-1 win at Köln in the DFB Pokal on Wednesday was their 14th in as many competitive fixtures in 2025/26. No club across Europe’s top five leagues had ever won their first 14 games of a season before. There are seemingly few weaknesses in this Munich team, although their success rate in duels is the lowest in the division. Apart from that, they boast the tightest defence, featuring familiar faces in Bayer 04 double winners Jonathan Tah and Josip Stanisic. There’s obviously also their attack, led by Harry Kane (22 goals, three assists), Michael Olise (seven goals, seven assists) and Luis Diaz (eight goals, five assists). In addition they have Serge Gnabry and youngster Lennart Karl, who are in excellent form themselves. Find out more in our in-depth opposition profile.
The Werkself can again count on the support of 6,000 travelling Leverkusen fans at the Allianz Arena as they look to extend their Bundesliga record run of 37 away games without defeat.
The German FA (DFB) have appointed the experienced Deniz Aytekin to oversee this game. It’s his 42nd involving Bayer 04 (W18, D9, L14). The 47-year-old previously took charge of the 3-1 win at home to Eintracht Frankfurt this season, which included two sumptuous goals from free-kicks by Alejandro Grimaldo. Christian Leicher and Christian Gittelmann are the assistants, with Pascal Müller as VAR in Cologne.

Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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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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