Bottom of the table SV Darmstadt entertain league leaders Bayer 04. The top side in the Bundesliga has won twelve of the last 14 matches between the teams in 18th and first positions. There are big differences between the two sides and not just in terms of the table: The team from Hessen have by far the weakest defence in this Bundesliga campaign (47 goals conceded) while Bayer 04 have let in the least goals this term (14). In addition, no other Bundesliga team has had as few touches in the opposition penalty area as Darmstadt (340). Bayer 04 have more than twice as many with 734 touches in the opponents' box.
It has been a long while since SV Darmstadt have secured three points in a game. The last time was in October of last year when the Lilies beat Werder Bremen 4-2 on Matchday 6 and the following eleven league games did not produce a single win for the newly promoted team now in danger of relegation – no other Bundesliga team has gone so long without a victory. Darmstadt, who have seen four red cards in the league this season, are currently bottom of the table on eleven points. Mainz 05 are above them level on points and FC Köln have one point more in sixteenth. Further news on today's opposition can be found in the lowdown on our next opponents.
1,700 Werkself fans will be supporting the team in Darmstadt. The Bayer 04 fan liaison team has put together all the key information on the away game as usual. The fan information is HERE.
he German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Tobias Reichel as today's referee. The 38-year-old has been in charge of five Werkself games to date including the 4-0 win against Schalke 04 in October 2022 with head coach Xabi Alonso in the Werkself dugout for the first time. Reichel’s assistants today are Marco Achmüller and Christian Bandurski and the VAR is Johann Pfeifer.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at today's game. The audio broadcast begins 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Niko Hartmann and co-commentator Mario Bast, who has stepped in for Cedric Pick who is ill. 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 at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
At its first general meeting on 5 February 2026 in Frankfurt am Main, the Frauen Bundesliga FBL e.V. made key decisions regarding the future direction of the Women’s Bundesliga. The meeting was based on the results of the negotiations with the German Football Association (DFB) over the past few weeks.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 3-0 win against FC St. Pauli in the quarter-final of the DFB-Pokal 2025/26...
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Once again in the last four! Bayer 04 put in a mature and, for long stretches, commanding performance to defeat a courageous FC St. Pauli in the quarter-finals of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the third time in a row. Martin Terrier gave Leverkusen the lead on 32 minutes before Patrik Schick made it 2-0 on 63 minutes. Substitute Jonas Hofmann capped off a strong second half for the Werkself with the third goal in added time.
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The German Football League (DFL) has announced the three candidates for the title of Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for January. That includes Werkself player Jarell Quansah. Fans of Bayer 04 can vote for their favourite on the Bundesliga app from now until Thursday, 5 January (23:59 CET).
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As in the past two years, the Werkself are aiming to come out on top in the DFB Pokal quarter-finals on Tuesday night, 3 February (kick-off: 20:45 CET). With eleven home games in a row without defeat against the Kiezkicker, the Black and Reds go into the floodlit match in confident mood. But the Pokal, as is often said, has its own magic and the team from the Millerntor has much more to offer than the current 17th place in the Bundesliga would suggest. After all, Bayer 04 are one of the big German teams the combative Hamburgers have already made life difficult for this season. The matchday news.
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