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 fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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A great honour for Bayer 04 Women's German international: as part of the 2025 Sports Awards, Carlotta Wamser entered her name into the City of Leverkusen's Golden Book. On Tuesday, she looked back on a special year in a talk in the Morsbroich Castle hall of mirrors.
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It was a disappointing night in Athens: The Werkself lost 2-0 away to Olympiacos on Matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. In a match that was intense and fiery from the outset, the high-pressing home side made the better start and took the lead through Costinha on two minutes. Although the Werkself had a number of chances to equalise, the clinical Greek side increased the lead to 2-0 shortly before half-time (45+1’). In the second half, Leverkusen once again gave their all and showed total commitment but, despite their best efforts, the Black and Reds were unable to break down the Olympiacos defence on the night.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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