The Werkself have only lost one of the last 28 games against VfB Stuttgart. The Black and Reds are unbeaten in the last 14 meetings – that the longest such run against a Bundesliga team.
After four games at the BayArena in succession, this fixture is at VfB Stuttgart. The two league home games in 2022/23 and 2023/24 plus the DFB quarter-final in 2023/24 and the 2025 Supercup were played in Leverkusen.
16 different players have scored for Bayer 04 and VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga this term.
VfB are having mixed fortunes in the current campaign after doing brilliantly last season. Stuttgart are currently mid-table and – for the first time under coach Sebastian Hoeneß – they have gone four games without a win on the bounce and have recently given away the lead four times. Despite their mixed performances, Stuttgart still count as one of the most skilful teams in the league with lots of possession on average, a good passing game and they have also created the most big chances in the league. Ahead of today's clash, captain Atakan Karazor called on his team to "up their game." Further information on VfB can found in our lowdown on the next opponents.
3,200 fans will be supporting the Werkself in Stuttgart in the late game on Sunday evening. As usual the Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team have put together all relevant information for travelling supporter - HERE is the fan information.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Daniel Siebert as the match referee. The 40-year-old referee has previously been in charge of 27 games involving the Werkself (ten wins, nine draws, eight defeats). Siebert's assistants today are Rafael Foltyn and Lasse Koslowski with Benjamin Cortus in action as the VAR.
The game will be broadcast live on DAZN. As ever, supporters unable to be at the match can follow the game on Werkself Radio. The audio broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Niko Hartmann and Cedric Pick. In addition, the live text update service will keep fans up-to-date. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
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Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
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