Hoffenheim have only lost more Bundesliga games against Bayern Munich (20) than they have against the Werkself (19), winning only seven of the 32 top-flight encounters to date. Leverkusen have won the last three in a row.
TSG have kicked off the Bundesliga season with a win and a defeat for the third year running, having beaten promoted Holstein Kiel 3-2 at home before a 3-1 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt. The last two seasons both saw them claim victory on Matchday 3, including against Bayer 04 two years ago.
Leverkusen’s defence will have to keep a very close eye on TSG’s No.27. Andrej Kramaric bagged a hat-trick against Kiel and netted again against Frankfurt. The in-form forward is also joined up front by Adam Hlozek, who swapped the BayArena for the PreZero in the summer. Haris Tabakovic is another new option in attack after finishing as joint-top scorer in Bundesliga 2 in 2023/24. However, Hoffenheim have a number of injury concerns, including vice-captain Grischa Prömel, centre-back Ozan Kabak and forward Ihlas Bebou. Find out more about Hoffenheim in our in-depth analysis.
The Nordkurve12 fan group has called for all supporters making their way to Sinsheim to travel in their Werkself kits. Some 4,000 fans are set to be at the PreZero Arena offering their support, meaning Bayer 04 have used their full allocation of tickets.
To conclude the club’s trophy tour to the USA, Bayer 04 will be hosting a watch party for today’s game at the Radegast Hall & Biergarten in Brooklyn, New York. In the afternoon, the trophies will then be on display at Saturdays Football store on Broome Street, Manhattan, before they and the club’s delegates return to Germany.
The Bayer 04 fan liaison team have put together key information on the away game in Sinsheim for all travelling Werkself fans. Find out more HERE.
The German FA (DFB) have appointed Daniel Schlager as today’s referee. The 34-year-old has previously overseen 10 fixtures involving the Werkself. His assistants are Sven Waschitzki-Günther and Arno Blos. The VAR is Sören Storks.
Werkself Radio is available for anyone unable to be at the game. The German audio broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Niko Hartmann Cedric Pick. In addition, the live text update service will keep fans up to date on bayer04.de and the Bayer 04 app.
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.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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