Although champions of Germany back in 1912, this is Kiel’s first season in the Bundesliga. The Werkself have only faced the Storks four times before. Two of those came in the 1978/79 Bundesliga 2 North, with a pair of 2-1 wins, before a 3-1 victory in the 2003/04 DFB Pokal prior to this season’s 2-2 draw at the BayArena in the Bundesliga.
Holstein currently sit bottom of the Bundesliga, with their total of 13 points from 22 games the second worst by a top-flight newcomer in the era of three points for a win. Only Greuther Fürth have been worse off at this stage of their maiden campaign (12 points in 2012/13).
Kiel are without a win in their last five games. They have so far managed just three victories in their 22 Bundesliga fixtures (all at home). Marcel Rapp’s side also have the worst defence in the division with 57 goals conceded, but they are bold going forward and have netted 34 times themselves, which is only two fewer than fourth-placed RB Leipzig, for example. The promoted side have also been good for late goals, earning seven points from losing positions thanks to strikes in the final 15 minutes – only five teams have better numbers in that regard. You can find out more about today’s opponents in our in-depth profile.
The Holstein-Stadion was first opened in 1911 and is therefore the oldest stadium in the state of Schleswig-Holstein and one of the 20 oldest in Germany. It has a capacity of 15,034, making it the second smallest in the 2024/25 Bundesliga. It’s around 500 kilometres from the BayArena.
Asked at his pre-match press conference about the state of the pitch, Kiel boss Rapp said: “The pitch isn’t currently in the best condition due to the weather. It could be a slight disadvantage for teams who like to pass the ball.”
A total of 1,700 fans will be making the trip from Leverkusen to support the team. The Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team have as usual put together information for all travelling supporters HERE.
The German FA (DFB) have appointed Daniel Schlager to oversee this game. The 35-year-old has previously taken charge of 11 fixtures involving the Werkself (W7, D2, L2). His assistants are Sven Waschitzki-Günther and Arno Blos; the VAR is Felix Brych.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
Show more
After being nominated for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025, Martin Terrier's wonderful strike for the opener against FC Köln is now also up for selection for the ARD Sportschau Goal of the Month award for December 2025. Bayer 04 fans have until 19:00 CET on 10 January to vote for the French forward.
Show more
After a break of almost two weeks, the Bayer 04 Women begin preparing for games in 2026 on Sunday. Bayer04.de provides an overview of the dates at the start of the second half of the season.
Show more
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 personalised 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…
Show more
