Exciting info on the clash between the Black and Reds and BVB is available on the matchday flyer Werkself LIVE. The special attraction of the new publication is: On the one side there are key stats on the meeting with the Black and Yellows and on the other side a poster with our new France international Moussa Diaby. That sets you up for the matchday at the BayArena. Click HERE for the e-paper.
The man in charge of the top match in front of a crowd of 17,605 at a sold-out BayArena is Daniel Siebert. He is assisted by Lasse Koslowski and Mark Borsch. The VAR match official is Guido Winkmann.
If you believe the statistics then the spectators can look forward to an outstanding offensive display. The reason: The Werkself have only scored more goals at home in the Bundesliga against Borussia Mönchengladbach (82) then they have against BVB (79). The Black and Reds have come out on top in the last two meetings at the BayArena – with 2-1 and 4-3 wins. In addition, Leverkusen and Dortmund are level with Bayern Munich as the teams currently with the most goals in the Bundesliga (nine each).
Werkself Radio will be reporting live as usual. Our commentator Niko Hartmann will start setting the scene for the top match half an hour before kick-off. He will be reporting live from the BayArena – just log onto the brand new Bayer 04 app or bayer04.de.
The game will also be broadcast live and exclusively on the pay-TV channel Sky.
Kerem Demirbay faces his former club Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. The 28-year-old came through the ranks at the Black and Yellow youth set-up and he went on to make 28 appearances for the BVB second team in the third division. The current Borussia squad also has two players with a Bayer 04 past. Julian Brandt (2014-19) and Emre Can (2013-14) both played for the Werkself.
Dortmund head coach Marco Rose will have to manage without a number of players for the away game at Bayer 04. Giovanni Reyna, Thorgan Hazard, Emre Can and Nico Schulz are ruled out due to injury. There is also a question mark over Thomas Meunier who returned from international duty with Belgium with a knock.
Rose's hopes currently rest on the former Leverkusen player Julian Brandt who appears to be back to full strength after a coronavirus infection and it seems highly likely that he will replace the injured Reyna in the starting line-up. "Jule is up for it," declared BVB coach Rose at the pre-match press conference. "He had an outstanding pre-season but then had to isolate but now he's got two weeks training and time on the pitch under his belt."
The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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After a two-week winter break, the Werkself resume training on Sunday, 4 January. The first session in 2026 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium starts at 11:00 and is open to fans. Bayer 04 look forward to welcoming supporters at the start of 2026. The Werkself schedule for the new year.
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After being nominated for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025, Martin Terrier's wonderful strike for the opener against FC Köln is now also up for selection for the ARD Sportschau Goal of the Month award for December 2025. Bayer 04 fans have until 19:00 CET on 10 January to vote for the French forward.
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