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
“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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The Bundesliga is back at the BayArena this Saturday as Bayer 04 play their first home game of the 2026/27 campaign against Union Berlin (15:30 CEST). Moussa Diaby could make his second debut for the Werkself following his return to Leverkusen – and it would be an ideal fixture for the Frenchman. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the encounter in our matchday news.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 at TSG Hoffenheim on the 3rd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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The Bundesliga returns to the BayArena for 2026/27 as Bayer 04 host Union Berlin on Saturday (15:30 CEST) looking for their first points of the season after last week’s opening loss at Elversberg. Head coach Carles Martínez spoke ahead of the game about what he’s learned, the team’s newest signings and who could return to the squad.
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