This is the first meeting between Bayer 04 and FC Bayern in a big European tournament. The Werkself have only lost one of their four games against German teams on the European stage (two wins, one draw) and there were three clean sheets along the way. The only defeat against a rival national team came in the last such fixture to date with a 3-2 defeat for the Black and Reds against Hamburg SV in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup.
FC Bayern have won their last three games against German teams in European competitions including the Champions League final in 2013 against Borussia Dortmund. Bayern Munich have also won nine of their last eleven Round of 16 home games (nine wins, one draw). The Werkself have only won one of their last ten matches in this round in the UCL (one draw, eight defeats).
FC Bayern have several things to celebrate at the moment. All is going well for the league leaders on the pitch with a difficult away game in Stuttgart won at the weekend. And the record champions have extended the contracts of some key players. So there was a good atmosphere recently at the celebrations of the 125th anniversary of FCB. Discover the latest information on today's opponents HERE.
Ahead of yesterday's press conference in Munich with Xabi Alonso and Granit Xhaka (HERE is the report), FCB coach Vincent Kompany and defender Alphonso Davies shared their views on today's game. Kompany said: "Both teams have a lot of individual quality and a lot of intensity. Leverkusen have earned the right to be seen as a top opponent. The last three games were completely different stories for us and it was very much about details. We don't have any problem with defending deep if the other team has created it. But we are at home and we want to produce our best."
Davies declared: "Matches against Leverkusen are always good. It's been a while since we've beaten them. It will be a top match. We go into the game with intensity, enthusiasm and motivation and we want to do our job." Further statements from the duo can be found HERE.
The Bayer 04 fan liaison team have put together information for this Champions League away game for the 4,000 travelling Werkself fans. Click HERE for the fan information.
All supporters who cannot be at the game can follow the UCL away trip to the Werkself on the live blog HERE.
UEFA has appointed Michael Oliver as the match referee. The 40-year-old Englishman has previously been in charge of four games involving the Werkself (three wins, one defeat). His assistants today are his fellow countrymen Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring and the Australian Jarred Gillett is in action as the VAR.
The match 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 Cedric Pick and the honorary captain and club representative Stefan Kießling in the first half. 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.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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