Robert Hartmann from Wangen is the referee. Read on for pre-match facts and stats.
Bayer 04 headed off to Baden on Thursday to set up base in Ettlingen. Head coach Heiko Herrlich held a training session on a nearby sports ground at eleven in the morning. After lunch and an afternoon rest, the squad will set off for the Wildpark Stadium at 18.40 CET. KSC will play in all blue and the Werkself will play in their red away kit.
Bayer 04 and KSC meet for the first time in the DFB Cup. There have been 36 previous encounters in the Bundesliga. The Werkself have won 16 and Karlsruher SC five. Bayer 04 also have a good record at the Wildpark Stadium: There have been four wins and three defeats with the other matches ending all square. The last meeting was in November 2008 when Leverkusen gave away a 3-0 lead to draw the match 3-3.
Karlsruher SC are counting on the support of their fans and are expecting a good attendance at the Wildpark tonight. 14,000 tickets were sold by the middle of the week including 1,000 for Bayer 04 supporters. "There is huge excitement," said KSC head coach Marc-Patrick Meister, "we want to be a tough opponent and stay in the game for as long as we can. If we get the chance to strike then we'll take it. For example at set pieces." The hosts are missing Matthias Bader, Dominik Stroh-Engel and the suspended central defender Daniel Gordon.
Both teams want to improve on their performances in last season's DFB Cup competition. Bayer 04 went out in the second round against Sportfreunde Lotte on penalties. KSC were knocked out in the previous round in a 2-1 defeat away to 1860 Munich. The draw for the second round proper will be held on 20 August on the ARD Sportschau TV programme from 18.00 CET with the names drawn out by comedian Carolin Kebekus and DFB U21 coach Stefan Kuntz.
Heiko Herrlich makes his competitive debut as Bayer 04 coach at the Wildpark Stadium – the very place where he started his career as a Bundesliga player for Leverkusen. In August 1989, the central striker, at the tender age of 17, came on for Marek Lesniak with ten minutes to play. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Heiko Herrlich demands full concentration from his team tonight – also due to the fact he is well aware of the strength of the opposition. In spite of the massive change of personnel, KSC are for him "a team likely to go up with some very good individual players." The Werkself coach gives the examples of defender David Pisot, who was signed from Würzburger Kickers, plus striker Anton Fink from Chemnitzer FC. The Bayer 04 defence will have to keep an eye on him: Fink has scored three goals for KSC in the first four league matches and is the record goalscorer in the third division with 116 goals in 254 games.
The time of the season is always Schwadbud time: The fan pub in the East Stand at the BayArena welcomes visitors to watch away games on the big screen and gives fans the opportunity to show their support. The doors open at 19.45 CET, that is one hour before kick-off: Call in and cross your fingers for the Werkself for the first competitive match of the season in Karlsruhe in the company of fellow Bayer 04 fans.
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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