After yesterday afternoon's final pre-match training session, the Werkself headed 70 kilometres north to the team hotel close to Mönchengladbach station. In the evening there was communal meal and team meeting. Breakfast on Wednesday is followed by a walk, lunch, rest plus a small snack before the team bus brings the Werkself to Borussia Park at around five o'clock. The Cup tie kicks off 90 minutes later with Manuel Gräfe the man in the middle with the whistle.
The Werkself will play their final competitive match of the year in the red kit. That's been lucky for Bayer 04 recently: In addition to the second round Cup tie against Union Berlin, Herrlich's team have played nine out of 19 games in red this season – only one ended in defeat (1-2 at Hertha Berlin). The record in numbers: five wins, three draws.
The Werkself and Gladbach have faced each other twice in 2017: The Black and Reds suffered a home defeat in the Bundesliga (2-3) and almost exactly two months to the day – on matchday nine in the current league campaign – Herrlich and his men enjoyed an impressive 'Oktoberfest' at Gladbach. For Kevin Volland, Julian Brandt and Co., the 5-1 win was not only the first away victory of the season but also set the Werkself on course for the rest of the season to date. Moreover: On that 21 October, Bayer 04 played in red. But, that's enough about superstition.
There is room for improvement in the DFB Cup record for Bayer 04 in matches against Borussia Mönchengladbach: The two clubs meet for the seventh time in the DFB Cup this evening. When the two sides first met in 1971/72, the Werkself played in the second division and they went out of the Cup over two legs. Since promotion to the Bundesliga, there have been four other ties with Gladbach winning once after 90 minutes, once after extra time and twice on penalties. To date, the only win for Bayer 04 in the DFB Cup against the Rhine rivals was on 20 September 1995 – Holger Fach and Ulf Kirsten score the goals in a 2-0 win.
Please note, dear friends of the Werkself. Borussia appear to be vulnerable in home cup ties: Mönchengladbach have been knocked out in the last three home games in the DFB Cup – and each time against another Bundesliga club. In total, Gladbach have only won two of theiir last eight home ties in the Cup. Bayer 04 could not only take confidence from the successful run of 13 matches without defeat but also the fact they have only lost two of the last eleven away games in the Cup – both on penalties. Moreover, Bayer 04 are always good for an away goal in this competition: Since August 2007, the Werkself have scored at least one goal in all 21 Cup away games (67 in total).
The Bayer 04 head coach Heiko Herrlich has won the DFB Cup twice as a player: In 1993 with Bayer 04 and two years later with his new club Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the 1991/92 season, the former Bayer 04 striker scored in the semi-final against Borussia. With the sides level at 2-2 after 120 minutes, it came down to a penalty shootout with the Gladbach keeper Uwe Kamps excelling by saving four Leverkusen penalties. "Back then I was one of the four glorious penalty takers who missed," recalled Herrlich with subdued irony at yesterday's pre-match press conference before adding: "So it would be good to go there tomorrow and get through to the next round." We agree with the boss.
Christmas is a good time for catching up – with family and friends. the Cup tie at Gladbach may bring a reunion with two former members of the Werkself family: One is Christoph Kramer, who was at Bayer 04 from 1999 to 2006 and 2008 to 2016. The other is Josip Drmic, who played for Leverkusen in 2014/15 before moving on to Mönchengladbach.
The Werkself match in the Cup will only be broadcast on Sky. One other option for following the action is provided by the Bayer 04 social media channels and live text commentary on www.bayer04.de – fans can discover background information on the game from one hour before kick-off. Anybody wanting to watch at least 90 minutes in the company of fellow Werkself fans can see the match at the Schwadbud at the BayArena (East Stand).
The Leverkusen eSports team played the remaining three of the six matches in the online preliminary round of the fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg were among the teams with the highest goal threat, including two World Cup participants in their ranks. Although the #B04eSports players were defeated in the matches overall, nine points from the first three games last week were enough for Leverkusen to advance to the offline round in Berlin on 2 February.
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A decisive showdown awaits: The Werkself are aiming to progress to the play-off round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League with a home win against Villarreal CF on the eighth and final matchday of the league phase. Ahead of the match on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the game, the possible return of Edmond Tapsoba and a statement from new signing Jonas Omlin in an exclusive interview with Werkself TV. Lucas Vázquez, for his part, spoke about his role on and off the pitch as well as tomorrow’s opponents, who he often faced in Spain with Real Madrid.
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For Villarreal CF, the match at Bayer 04 on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), will be their last appearance on the European stage this season. The Spanish side, currently fourth in La Liga, are still without a win in the UEFA Champions League and, with just one point from their seven games so far, have no chance of making the play-offs. The 2021 Europa League winners can therefore play without any pressure at the BayArena and will be looking to bow out of the competition with a good performance. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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