#B04ASM – Countdown to kick-off

When the Lithuanian referee Gediminas Mazeika, who is making his first appearance on the top European stage, starts the final group match against AS Monaco at the BayArena the hope will be a first victory against Monaco in the sixth meeting with the club from the Principality.

Arsenal and Napoli in the draw

Following the Tuesday night games in the Champions League there are another two possible opponents for Bayer 04 in the Round of 16. Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and champions of England Leicester City are joined by Arsenal and Napoli as group winners and potential opponents for the Werkself in the last 16. Tonight's matches will decide the final positions: Juventus, Sevilla and Real Madrid, providing they beat Borussia Dortmund, are also possible opponents. The draw for the Round of 16 takes place in Nyon on Monday 12 December at 12.00 CET.

A draw would be a first

Head coach Roger Schmidt's team are unbeaten at the BayArena in the last nine European home games. The last defeat was back in November 2014. The Werkself lost 1-0 in the Champions League against AS Monaco. As is the case this season, both teams made it to the Round of 16. A point against the team placed second in the French top flight would also be a record from another point of view: For the first time in eleven campaigns Leverkusen will have completed a group stage in the Champions League without a single defeat. Reason enough to give 100 per cent tonight.

Success at the sixth attempt

The Werkself have never beaten Monaco. The two teams have met five times in Europe's premier club competition with three wins for ASM alongside two draws. In 1997, the first season for Bayer 04 in the Champions League, the Werkself lost the away game 4-0 with Thierry Henry and Viktor Ikpeba both netting twice. The return game ended all square at 2-2. Two years ago Monaco won both games 1-0 and when the two sides met earlier this season Kamil Glick levelled with the last kick of the game in a 1-1 draw. Bayer 04 central defender Aleksandar Dragovic described it as a speculative effort.

Milestone or debut

Bernd Leno is set to make his 50th appearance on the European stage for Leverkusen. With 35 games in the Champions League the Germany international joins Jörg Butt as a record holder among Bayer 04 goalkeepers. However, it is possible that Roger Schmidt will rotate his squad and give Ramazan Özcan his first outing in the Champions League. "I'm thinking about it," said the Leverkusen head coach at Tuesday's pre-match press conference when talking about a possible change between the sticks.

U19s looking to progress

The Bayer 04 U19 team is in action in the UEFA Youth League this afternoon: The team coached by Markus von Ahlen and Iraklis Metaxas face the AS Monaco youth team at the Haberland Stadium at 14.00 CET. The Werkself youngsters lost the game in the Principality 2-1 and now they have to beat the French opponents to draw level on points for a second place finish that would take them through to the knockout rounds. That requires a 1-0 or 2-1 win or victory by a margin of at least two goals. Markus von Ahlen is expecting "a tight game where little differences will be decisive." The game is being broadcast live on Sport1.

Traffic news

This mainly affects anybody making their way to the BayArena and back via the shuttle buses from Kurtekotten tonight: From Monday (5.12.) to Thursday (8.12.) traffic on the B8 in Cologne between Otto Bayer Straße and the Mülheim slip road will be limited to one lane in each direction in certain stretches. The Rhein-Berg authority is carrying out work between eight in the morning and four in the afternoon alongside the carriageway.