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.
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
Show more
A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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 personal 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
You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
Show more
Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
Show more
