"An away game at a second division club is a draw we can be happy with," said Bayer 04 head coach Heiko Herrlich on Sunday evening shortly after the draw. "However, FC Heidenheim are definitely not to be taken for granted at their own stadium so it will definitely be a challenge for us."
The draw at the German Football Museum in Dortmund was made by the blind footballer Serdal Celebi of FC St. Pauli. The former Germany international of blind football won the August Goal of the Month competition. His strike in the Germany championship final was the first goal of the month to be scored by a blind player. Germany Women's coach Horst Hrubesch was in charge of the draw.
Formed in 2007 as a breakaway from Heidenheimer Sportbund, FC Heidenheim have played in the second division since 2014. Last season, Heidenheim were also in the DFB Cup Round of 16 where they narrowly lost 2-1 to the eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt. Since 2007, the team has been coached by Frank Schmidt who used to play for FC Nürnberg Reserves, Alemannia Aachen and Waldhof Mannheim. "Coach Frank Schmidt has done a great job there for years. We will need to be fully focused at Heidenheim. But it is clear we want to go through to the next round," said Herrlich.
Bayer 04 and FC Heidenheim have never played each other before.
There are big games in the Round of of 16 with Bundesliga clashes of Hertha Berlin against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund against Werder Bremen. The relegated Bundesliga founders Hamburg SV face FC Nürnberg.
Round of 16 draw in full:
Hamburg SV v FC Nürnberg
FC Heidenheim v Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Schalke 04 v Fortuna Düsseldorf
Holstein Kiel v FC Augsburg
Hertha Berlin v FC Bayern Munich
MSV Duisburg v SC Paderborn
Borussia Dortmund v Werder Bremen
RB Leipzig v VfL Wolfsburg
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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