The Werkself have won back-to-back Bundesliga games against Leipzig for the first time, although both came at the BayArena (2-0 and 3-2). On the road, it’s only two wins from seven encounters. However, Leipzig – usually so impressive at home – were beaten 1-0 by Eintracht Frankfurt at the Red Bull Arena last weekend, ending their run of 12 home league games unbeaten. The only time in their top flight history that Die Roten Bullen have lost consecutive home fixtures was in April 2018 under Ralph Hasenhüttl. One of the opponents back then was in fact Leverkusen, who claimed a 4-1 victory in Saxony.
Saturday’s hosts come into the game in fourth place on 33 points. They are also through to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, but the two-time defending DFB Cup holders are out of that competition after a second-round defeat at Wolfsburg. Marco Rose’s side have dealt well with a large turnover of players in the summer. Lois Openda and Xavi Simons in particular have proven to be good transfers. The former has 11 goals and five assists from 17 Bundesliga games, while Simons boasts 13 goal contributions, of which nine are assists, ranking him joint-second in the division in that category. You can find out more about today’s opponents in our profile piece.
The Werkself will enjoy plenty of support in Leipzig with 2,900 Leverkusen fans making the journey. For those supporters in attendance, the Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team has summarised everything you need to know about today’s game at the Red Bull Arena HERE, including information on how to get there and who to speak to if required.
The German FA (DFB) have appointed Matthias Jöllenbeck as today’s referee. The 36-year-old has overseen three Werkself fixtures across all competitions before, with one win and two draws. His assistants are Robert Kemper and Jonas Weickenmeier. The VAR is Benjamin Brand.
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 will round off their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with a friendly against Premier League side Newcastle United. The match against the side featuring German internationals Malik Thiaw and Nick Woltemade will take place on Saturday 15 August (kick-off: 4 pm German time/3 pm local time) at St James’ Park. Werkself-TV will stream the match live in full and free of charge after logging in from 3.50 pm...
After the 2-1 defeat at Premier League club Nottingham Forest the night before, it was straight back to work for the Werkself at midday on Thursday with an intensive training session in hot temperatures at the hosts' training ground.
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The Werkself suffered a first defeat in the current pre-season fixtures. The sixth friendly of the summer ended in 2-1 reverse at Premier League Nottingham Forest. The English side took an early lead (4’) but Patrik Schick levelled just after the half-hour mark (32’). Nothing much happened after that, and the match looked set to end in a draw. However, the hosts managed to score the winning goal late on (90').
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned U19 midfielder Jeremiah Mensah to Dutch second-tier side Roda JC Kerkrade for one year. The 18-year-old Germany youth international has a long-term contract at the club to 2031.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH has taken note of the final, non-binding statement issued by the Bundeskartellamt regarding the 50+1 rule and its application, and will now examine it carefully.
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