The two sides met in the first round last term with the Werkself going through with a 3-0 win with goals from Kießling, Calhanoglu and Bender. “Lotte are known as a strong opponent as was evident last year. The fact they knocked out Bremen says everything about them moving up to the third division from the Regional League. We know we’ll a job on our hands,” said Bayer 04 coach Roger Schmidt.
Bayer 04 beat lower league opposition SC Hauenstein 2-1 in the first round. Lotte pulled off a sensational result in their opening match with a 2-1 victory over Bundesliga side Werder Bremen. The team, including former Bayer 04 keeper Benedikt Fernandez, finished last season as champions of the Regional League West to gain promotion to the third division where they currently lie ninth in the table with five points from four games.
The Round Two ties will be played on 25 and 26 October with four matches at 19.00 and four at 20.30 on each day. 16 Bundesliga teams are still in the tournament with RB Leipzig (losing 6-5 on penalties against Dynamo Dresden) and Werder Bremen (a 2-1 defeat against Sportfreunde Lotte) going out in the opening round. 13 second division clubs are in Round Two plus the two third tier teams Sportfreunde Lotte and Hallescher FC plus Regional League FC Astoria Walldorf.
Round Two draw in full:
Bundesliga v Bundesliga
FC Köln v TSG Hoffenheim
FC Bayern Munich v FC Augsburg
Eintracht Frankfurt v FC Ingolstadt
Bundesliga v Second division
FC Nürnberg v FC Schalke 04
Borussia Dortmund v FC Union Berlin
SC Freiburg v SV Sandhausen
FC Heidenheim v VfL Wolfsburg
Borussia Mönchengladbach v VfB Stuttgart
FC St. Pauli v Hertha BSC
SpVgg Greuther Fürth v FSV Mainz 05
Second division v Second division
Hannover 96 v Fortuna Düsseldorf
Dynamo Dresden v Arminia Bielefeld
Würzburger Kickers v TSV 1860 Munich
Third division v Bundesliga
Hallescher FC v Hamburg SV
Sportfreunde Lotte v Bayer 04
Non-league v Bundesliga
FC-Astoria Walldorf v SV Darmstadt 98
Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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In the final international break in the current 2025/26 campaign, Bayer 04 striker Patrik Schick with Czechia will be battling for a place at the World Cup. Meanwhile, national teams that have already qualified, include other Werkself players called up, are involved in friendlies in the build-up to the World Cup. Read on for an overview of the Leverkusen internationals and their match dates.
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The Werkself kicked off the final international break of the current season on Monday morning with the first of three open training sessions this week. While eleven Bayer 04 players will be away on international duty in the coming days, the other players will be working together in Leverkusen. The next challenge in the Bundesliga awaits on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg.
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