The only previous competitive encounters between Feyenoord and the Werkself came in the 1987/88 UEFA Cup as Leverkusen progressed 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16 en route to lifting the trophy.
Tonight’s game is being played at the legendary Stadion Feijenoord, better known as De Kuip, which translates as ‘the tub’ due to the shape of its roof. It’s the second largest stadium in the Netherlands and holds the record for hosting the most European finals with 10 across the European Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Cup, European Championship, and most recently the 2023 UEFA Nations League final.
Like Bayer 04, Feyenoord have also won silverware already this season as the Eredivisie runners-up and KNVB Cup winners beat champions PSV Eindhoven on penalties to lift the Dutch Super Cup.
Feyenoord are one of Dutch football’s biggest names alongside the likes of Ajax and PSV. They won their 16th league title in 2022/23 before finishing second last term. It’s their seventh participation in the Champions League. They are yet to lose in the Eredivisie this season and are unbeaten in 24 across multiple seasons, but they have only won one of their fixtures so far this term, drawing the other three to sit sixth in the table. Find out more about Feyenoord in our in-depth analysis.
Due to the potentially heated nature of this match, Bayer 04 asks all fans to behave peacefully and responsibly in the stadium and in the Rotterdam city area. Bayer 04 would also ask all fans to behave in a level-headed manner in the run-up to the match to prevent conflict situations from arising in the first place. The following conditions are to be expected on site:
Bayer 04 will do everything in its power to make the match an atmospheric and, above all, peaceful football festival. Together with hosts Feyenoord, with whom Bayer 04 has a trusting relationship, the support of the fans is also requested.
A total of 2,500 fans are expected to make the trip from Leverkusen to Rotterdam. The Bayer 04 fan liaison team have put together key information on the game for travelling supporters. Find out more HERE.
Those fans who can’t be in Rotterdam can follow updates from the build-up to the game in our live blog HERE.
UEFA have appointed Davide Massa as tonight’s referee. The 43-year-old Italian has overseen three previous Werkself fixtures, with a win, draw and loss each. His assistants are compatriots Filippo Meli and Stefano Alassio. The VAR is Aleandro Di Paolo.
Werkself Radio is available for anyone unable to be at the game. The German audio broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Niko Hartmann Cedric Pick. In addition, the live text update service will keep fans up to date on bayer04.de and the Bayer 04 app.
For the third time in a row, the Leverkusen eSports players have made it through to the final round of the VBL Club Championship. From 7 to 8 March, they will compete for the German Club Championship at XPERION in Hamburg. At the start of the final round, they face Hamburger SV in the Round of 16. The match starts at 19:30 CET on Saturday, 7 March and will be broadcast live on the VBL Twitch channel. The eSports preview.
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"We played with pace and patience today. That was the decisive factor," said managing director sport Simon Rolfes following the 1-0 win at Hamburger SV in the rearranged match on Wednesday night. Although the Werkself still had room for improvement in terms of capitalising on their chances against the Red Shorts, they produced a different display to last time out and were rewarded for a concentrated performance over 90 minutes. The Werkself review features reaction to the game, including from a happy starting XI debutant, as well as the match stats.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-0 win in rearranged match at Hamburger SV on Matchday 17 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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The second attempt was a successful one: the Werkself won 1-0 at Hamburger SV in the rearranged Bundesliga Matchday 17 encounter. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's side dominated play from the start and eventually scored the winning goal through Christian Kofane in the 73rd minute.
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