That keeper is Bernd Leno. Born in Baden-Württemberg, Leno played for the Black and Reds from 2011 to 2018 making 304 appearances and he kept 100 clean sheets. The shot-stopper also holds a record: In 2014/15, Leno went 527 minutes without conceding a goal to beat the previous club record held by Rüdiger Vollborn (485 minutes). After leaving in the summer of 2018, Leno now plays for Arsenal in the Premier League.
But back to Leverkusen: Benjamin Cortus is the referee for tonight’s DFB Cup tie against Union Berlin. The 38-year-old IT specialist is supported by assistant referees Florian Heft and Christian Leicher, and the video assistant is Tobias Reichel. Bayer 04 have never lost a game when Cortus has been in charge: Two wins – one in the DFB Cup – plus one draw is the record to date. All three matches were in 2016/17.
Today’s game is the seventeenth time the Werkself have been in the DFB quarter-finals since 1967. The Black and Reds have gone through to the semi-finals eight times and been in the final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin three times; the Werkself lifted the DFB Cup in 1992/93. The last semi-final appearance was not too long ago: Bayer 04 lost to Bayern Munich in 2017/18.
Stefan Kießling, former Werkself player and advisor to the Bayer 04 board, talked in an interview with dfb.de about his career, the 2009 DFB Cup final and today’s game against Union Berlin. In terms of Union, the 36-year-old said: “They defend well and are well-organised. It’s incredibly hard playing against them.” Kies highlighted the striker Sebastian Andersson: He likes the way “he holds onto the ball and distributes it.”
The groups for the second Nations League were drawn last night. Germany with Kai Havertz, Jonathan Tah, Nadiem Amiri and Co. are in Group A4 with Switzerland, Ukraine and three-time European champions Spain. The Werkself Austria players Julian Baumgartlinger and Aleksandar Dragovic are in Group B1 along with Norway, Northern Ireland and Romania. Lukas Hradecky and his Finland team-mates are in Group B4 with Wales, Ireland and Bulgaria.
The group stage will be played on three double matchdays between September and November after the Euros in the summer. The finals tournament will involve the four group winners in Division A and will be held from 2 to 6 June 2021.
The Werkself will host VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game is on Saturday, 10 January, at 18:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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The Werkself will host Werder Bremen at the BayArena on matchday 19 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game is on Saturday, 24 January, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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In the sixth and final match of the league phase of the UEFA Youth League 2025/26, the Bayer 04 U19s have a great opportunity to advance to the knockout phase of Europe’s most prestigious youth competition for the first time. To achieve that under their own steam, they will need a win against Newcastle United at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 14:00 CET/ free admission). In an interview with bayer04.de, managing director sport Simon Rolfes analyses the team's performances so far and their special situation. And the 43-year-old reveals what he would be happy to do without on the day of the match.
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The next opponents in the 2025/26 DFB Pokal have been announced: Bayer 04 will host Bundesliga rivals FC St. Pauli in the quarter-finals. That was the outcome of the draw held this Sunday evening, 7 December, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund, where long-time Bundesliga player and coach Friedhelm Funkel made the draw. The Werkself will play their quarter-final tie on 3-4 or 10-11 February 2026. The exact dates have yet to be finalised.
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After falling behind early on, Bayer 04 took control of the game against a combative and disciplined FC Augsburg on Saturday afternoon. However, they lacked the necessary precision in finishing and hit the post and crossbar three times. After the game, coach Kasper Hjulmand said he wanted to get back to the "right philosophy" of previous matches with three games left in 2025. The Werkself review.
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