The tie at the Wildpark Stadium marks the start of a hopefully successful season for the team managed by the new head coach Heiko Herrlich. The new Bundesliga campaign starts on Friday 18 August with the Werkself away to the champions of Germany Bayern Munich in the very first match of the season. The first home game at the BayArena is against TSG Hoffenheim on the following weekend. "We have a difficult start but we are not worried about it," said Jonas Boldt, sporting manager at Bayer 04, "we'll know straightaway where we stand."
DFB Cup First Round draw in full:
Friday, 11 August, 20.45 CET:
Rot-Weiss Essen v Borussia Mönchengladbach
Holstein Kiel v Eintracht Braunschweig
Karlsruher SC v Bayer 04
Saturday, 12 August, 15.30 CET:
VfB Germania Halberstadt v SC Freiburg
Lüneburger SK Hansa v FSV Mainz 05
SpVgg Unterhaching v FC Heidenheim
SV Eichede v FC Kaiserslautern
TuS Koblenz v SG Dynamo Dresden
TuS Erndtebrück v Eintracht Frankfurt
FC Rielasingen-Arlen v Borussia Dortmund
Leher TS v FC Köln
Chemnitzer FC v FC Bayern Munich
Saturday, 12 August, 18.30 CET:
Rot-Weiß Erfurt v 1899 Hoffenheim
SSV Jahn Regensburg v SV Darmstadt 98
Arminia Bielefeld v Fortuna Düsseldorf
Saturday, 12 August, 20.45 CET:
Würzburger Kickers v SV Werder Bremen
Sunday, 13 August, 15.30 CET:
FC Saarbrücken v FC Union Berlin
SV Morlautern v SpVgg Greuther Fürth
FC Eintracht Norderstedt v VfL Wolfsburg
FC Schweinfurt 05 v SV Sandhausen
Bonner SC v Hannover 96
FC Nöttingen v VfL Bochum
1860 Munich v FC Ingolstadt
VfL Osnabrück v Hamburg SV
Sportfreunde Dorfmerkingen v RB Leipzig
Sunday, 13 August, 18.30 CET:
FC Magdeburg v FC Augsburg
Energie Cottbus v VfB Stuttgart
SV Wehen Wiesbaden v Erzgebirge Aue
Monday, 14 August, 18.30 CET:
SC Paderborn 07 v FC St. Pauli
MSV Duisburg v FC Nürnberg
BFC Dynamo v FC Schalke 04
Monday, 14 August, 20.45 CET:
FC Hansa Rostock v Hertha BSC
Ibrahim Maza joined Bayer 04 from Hertha Berlin in the summer of 2025. The youngster from Berlin developed into a difference-maker in his first season with the Werkself. Find out what makes the highly talented player tick in this very personal interview. Among other things, Maza talks about his Algerian-Vietnamese-German home, the role of his family and the importance of Islam for him both in his private life and in football...
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Bayer 04’s Ibrahim Maza is among the three nominees for the Bundesliga’s 2025/26 Rookie of the Season award. Fans have until 23:59 CEST on Thursday, 7 May to cast their votes in the official Bundesliga app.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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The Bayer 04 Women have kept their chance of qualifying for the Champions League alive in the Bundesliga run-in. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team won 4-0 at SGS Essen on Sunday afternoon, improving their record from last season to 14 wins this term. With 43 points, the Werkself equalled another record from the 2024/25 season and at the same time reduced the gap to third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt to two points, at least for tonight. Loreen Bender (4’), Kristin Kögel (41’, 68’) and Cornelia Kramer (89’) scored for the Black and Reds, who dominated the game to record their fourth win on the bounce.
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