
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.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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