This time the draw was made by the former Leverkusen women's player Turid Knaak, who played for Bayer 04 from 2011 to 2017. She stood in for Felix Neureuther due to illness. The former Germany international and current goalkeeping coach of the national team, Andreas Köpke, was in charge of the draw.
Rudi Völler: "We are happy to have another home game. VfB Stuttgart not only feels like a first division team of course but they are also an opponent to take seriously and we will need to be on top of our game. But we want to go far in this competition and we are very, very optimistic that we can go through against VfB." The record against VfB in the DFB Cup provides reason to be optimistic. Bayer 04 have always beaten Stuttgart in the cup. And the Werkself progressed to the semi-final stage in 1991/92 and 2002/03.
Sporting director Simon Rolfes was also excited: “A great draw for us. VfB will bring lots of fans and it will be a great cup battle with a guaranteed fantastic atmosphere. Our clear aim is to win this duel and go through to the quarter-finals."
Ticket information will be announced shortly.
Eintracht Frankfurt v RB Leipzig
Bayer 04 v VfB Stuttgart
FC Bayern Munich v TSG Hoffenheim
Schalke 04 v Hertha Berlin
FC Saarbrücken v Karlsruher SC
Werder Bremen v Borussia Dortmund
FC Kaiserslautern v Fortuna Düsseldorf
SC Verl v FC Union Berlin
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Carles Martínez Novell. Bayer 04 have appointed the 42-year-old Spaniard as the new head coach on a contract to 2028. Martínez most recently worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. He previously spent four years at Barcelona's legendary academy La Masia in his home city. Bayer04.de introduces Martínez in more detail.
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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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