Bayer 04 will be accepting food donations for the Leverkusen Foodbank ahead of the game at the collection points around the ground from the time the stadium opens at 1.30pm until kick-off at 3.30pm. The foodbank is primarily asking for non-perishable food and hygiene articles. Find out more about the campaign and which items are most needed HERE.
Bayer 04 is using the last three Bundesliga home games of the year to say thanks to some fan clubs for their amazing support in 2024. The previous game against Heidenheim saw fan clubs that have existed for 10-15 years honoured, while today it will be those that have been around for 20-30 years. CEO Fernando Carro will be presenting awards at half-time.
The half-time break will also see Bayer 04 Sportförderung gGmbH present its annual volunteers award on the German FA’s volunteer appreciation ‘Danke ans Ehrenamt’ matchday.
The Werkself are unbeaten in their last 10 home meetings with St. Pauli, winning six and drawing four. The last encounter at the BayArena ended in a 2-1 victory back on 10 April 2011. You can read more about some of the interesting fixtures between the sides over the last 50 years HERE.
The Kiezkicker finally got their first home goal and win of the season last weekend as they beat Holstein Kiel 3-1, although it still means they have earned the majority of their points on the road. Find out more about today’s opponents in our profile piece.
The German FA (DFB) have appointed Matthias Jöllenbeck to referee this game. The 37-year-old has previously overseen six Werkself fixtures (W3, D2, L1). His assistants are Jonas Weickenmeier and Mark Borsch; Pascal Müller is the VAR.
Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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