Heiko Herrlich's team clocked up the first away win of the season on Saturday with a fantastic 5-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Werkself played in their red away strip. Tonight, Bayer 04 are looking to extend the run in red and will again play in the all red kit. The visitors from Berlin, who knocked out fourth division FC Saarbrücken in the first round will play in black.
The Werkself and Union Berlin have met once before. That was on 29 October 2003, also in the second round of the DFB Cup. The Berliners were at home back then. The Werkself inflicted a 5-0 win on the second division side at their Alte Försterei ground – Hanno Balitsch, Dimitar Berbatov (2), Daniel Bierofka and Robson Ponte scored for Bayer 04 then managed by Klaus Augenthaler. Moreover: The only other team to win by the same margin against Union in the DFB Cup was Werder Bremen in August 2009.
Union Berlin sprang a surprise in 2000/01 when they reached the DFB Cup final only to lose 2-0 against Bundesliga side Schalke 04. The club from the east of the capital were not able to build on that success. In the following seasons they were knocked out twice in the Round of 16, eight times in the first round and four times in the second. This is the eighth time Union Berlin have been drawn against a Bundesliga side and the matches against teams from Germany's top flight have not been a great success for Union – the last six ties have all gone in favour of the team from the Bundesliga. The Werkself will be happy to see that run continue. The Berlin side were knocked out in the second round last term in a brave performance against Borussia Dortmund that ended in a 3-0 defeat on penalties.
Many Werkself fans will have bad memories of last season's cup campaign: the 2-2 scoreline after extra time at Sportfreunde Lotte resulted in a penalty shoot-out that the third division side won 4-3 in front of their own fans to go through to the Round of 16. For Bayer 04 that was the sixth exit from the DFB Cup against teams from lower divisions in the past eleven years (against second division MSV Duisburg (05/06), FC St. Pauli (07/08), FC Kaiserslautern (09/10 and 13/14), Dynamo Dresden (11/12) plus last season's defeat against third division Lotte. However, Bayer 04 have come out on top 17 times in the last 27 cup ties against second division sides.
Julian Brandt is set to make his ninth DFB Cup appearance against the team from Berlin. The 21-year-old can look back on an impressive record: in his last eight matches the Werkself number ten was involved in nine goals (one goal, eight assists). Brandt contributed two assists two months ago in the 3-0 first round win away to Karlsruher SC.
Joel Pohjanpalo played a large part in progressing against Karlsruhe when he scored to make it 2-0. The 23-year-old Finn has scored five times against Union Berlin in his career to date – with his former clubs VfR Aalen and Fortuna Düsseldorf. The overall record is on his side: three wins, one defeat and a draw. Given Kevin Volland is sidelined through injury, the chances have risen of the Finland international getting a game. His first double in Germany was scored by the Bayer 04 super sub in May 2014 – In a 3-0 home win for Aalen against Union.
Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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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 personal 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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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 midfielder Jonah Berghoff ahead of schedule. The Germany U18 international has signed professional terms with the club to 30 June 2030.
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Two months of preparation, five friendlies and the return of a familiar training camp location: After finishing fifth in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga last season, the Werkself will return to training on Tuesday, 23 June. Bayer04.de outlines the key dates in the 2026 summer timetable.
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