Special encounters at the first away game: The new head coach at Borussia Mönchengladbach this season is Gerardo Seoane, the predecessor of Werkself coach Xabi Alonso. Speaking at yesterday's pre-match press conference, the Spaniard said it will be the first time the two have met and that he is looking forward to it. In addition, two Bayer 04 new signings will meet up with some very familiar faces this evening: Granit Xhaka played for the Foals from 2012 to 2016, Jonas Hofmann from 2016 to the summer of 2023. The clubs have previously met 105 times (43 wins, 32 draws, 30 defeats). The last fixture was in May when the game ended all square at 2-2.
The Foals are currently in a state of flux. A number of new players plus a new head coach have been brought in to get Borussia moving up the table again after two disappointing seasons. Gladbach were unable to pick up three points in their first outing this term with the opening match against FC Augsburg producing an action-packed 4-4 draw. A difficult to predict a result that showed the Foals knew how to score but at the same time are susceptible in defence. Borussia were 3-1 up against FC Augsburg before going 4-3 down and only saving a point with a penalty in added time (90+7'). Further information on the Foals is available in our lowdown on the next opponents.
The German Football Association (DFB) has put the experienced referee Christian Dingert in charge of today's game. For the 43-year-old match official, this will be his thirteenth game involving the Werkself (five wins, three draws, five defeats).Dingert will be assisted by Benedikt Kempkes and Nikolai Kimmeyer on the touchlines and Felix Zwayer is on VAR duty.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at today's away game at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The audio broadcast begins 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Cedric Pick and Philip Konrad (RTL football commentator). In addition, the live text update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app – just log on.
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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