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.
Bayer 04 have comfortably reached the DFB Pokal second round thanks to a 4–0 victory away to Liga 3 side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Patrik Schick put the Werkself ahead in the first 45 in the first competitive match under head coach Carles Martínez with debuts for new signings Miguel Gutiérrez, Afonso Moreira and Facundo Medina. After the break, Lucas Vázquez (47'), Nathan Tella (69') and Christian Kofane (79') also found the back of the net.
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Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
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Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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With the 2026/27 season set to kick off with a DFB Pokal tie away to SV Wehen Wiesbaden (Saturday, 22 August, 13:00 CEST), the squad numbers for two Werkself players have now been confirmed. New signing Afonso Moreira will wear the number 9, which he has already worn in pre-season friendlies. Lucas Vázquez is switching from number 21 to number 17 – the number he wore successfully at Real Madrid for many years.
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Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
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