Meetings between Bayer 04 and Atletico Madrid have tradition on the big European stage. After tonight's clash, the Werkself will have played more competitive games against the Rojiblancos than against any other team from Spain. In 10 encounters there have been three wins (all at home), four draws and three defeats. There's a more in-depth look back at the previous meetings HERE.
Atletico are unbeaten in 10 Champions League home games against German teams. They've also just won four UCL matches in a row for the first time since November 2016. For their part, the Werkself could keep a fifth clean in this Champions League season - only Liverpool have registered more shutouts so far.
Atletico's impressive winning run of 15 games in all competitions - a club record - came to an end last weekend with a surprise 1-0 defeat at promoted side CD Leganes, which saw Diego Simeone's men knocked off top spot in LaLiga by city rivals Real Madrid. In the Champions League, meanwhile, Antoine Griezmann and Co sit in 11th place in the league phase on 12 points, one point behind fourth-placed Bayer 04. After a 2-1 victory over RB Leipzig to start, there were two defeats at Benfica (4-0) and at home to OSC Lille (3-1) before three successive wins against Paris Saint-Germain (2-1), Sparta Prague (6-0) and Slovan Bratislava (3-1). There's more in our opposition analysis.
Before the Bayer 04 press conference yesterday evening with Xabi Alonso and Alejandro Grimaldo (round-up HERE), Atletico coach Simeone and midfielder Pablo Barrios also had their say on today's match. Simeone said: "Bayer Leverkusen are an extraordinary team. They play very good football with very good tempo, transitions and positional play. The way they play football is admirable."
Meanwhile, Barrios said: "It's going to be a difficult game. We all know Bayer Leverkusen, they'll make it very tough for us. But we'll go out there together and do our best to win."
For all Werkself fans following the game in Madrid, Bayer 04 partner weloveholidays has summarised the best travel tips for the top attractions in the Spanish capital. You can find the article HERE.
The Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team have also put together a guide for the 1,700 Werkself fans who are travelling to the Champions League away match. The fan info is HERE.
UEFA has appointed Davide Massa as the referee for this one. The 43-year-old Italian has officiated four competitive matches involving Leverkusen to date, including the 4-0 win at Feyenoord on Matchday 1 of the current Champions League campaign. Assisting Massa today are his compatriots Ciro Carbone and Stefano Alassio on the sidelines, as well as Aleandro di Paolo as VAR.
Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
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Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
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After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
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SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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