The Werkself are in the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the tenth time. They've progressed to the final in Berlin's Olympiastadion four times (1993, 2002, 2009, 2020). In the most recent semi-final in 2020, Leverkusen won 3-0 at 1. FC Saarbrücken - who lost 2-0 to 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the other semi-final yesterday evening.
Meanwhile, Bayer 04 have won all of their last six competitive matches against Fortuna Düsseldorf - each of which were in the Bundesliga (17:5 goals). The Werkself's last competitive defeat against F95 was a 1-0 loss in Leverkusen in August 1996.
One of Bayer 04's trump cards in the Pokal has been their finishing: the Werkself have scored in no less than 30 consecutive cup matches - a club record and the longest current run in the competition. In each the four Pokal matches so far this season, Leverkusen have scored at least three goals, making a total of 19 (a club record for a cup season and matching the 1988/89 record).
Fortuna Düsseldorf rounded off a very impressive March with a 3-1 win at Kaiserslautern and picked up ten out of a possible twelve points. "It was a mature performance from my team," said coach Daniel Thioune, praising his team after the win at the Betzenberg. And once again it was striker Christos Tzolis who, with his brace, was the man of the match for Fortuna. The Greek first equalised (74') and then capped it off with his second goal (82') after Shinta Appelkamp put 95 ahead (76'). Fortuna had scored three goals in the space of eight minutes, proving their comeback qualities not for the first time this season. Turning games around in the closing stages - something not only the Werkself can do. Find out more about today's opponents in our detailed profile.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Christian Dingert as the referee for tonight's game. The 43-year-old has taken charge of 16 competitive matches involving the Werkself to date, with eight wins, three draws and five defeats from a Black & Red perspective. Dingert will be assisted on the touchlines by Benedikt Kempkes and Nikolai Kimmeyer, with Sören Storks in action as the VAR.
Due to roadworks in Robert-Blum-Straße / Im Eisholz, there may be delays in travelling to and from the event. Traffic in Robert-Blum-Straße will be diverted past the roadworks by means of a mobile traffic light system. Montessoriweg will be converted into a one-way street. We ask you to arrive at the BayArena in good time and recommend using public transport, shuttle buses and bicycles. The roadworks are planned until 5 April.
Anyone wanting to discover the latest information ahead of the cup tie should definitely take a look at the new Werkself Live. The matchday programme, which includes key facts and stats on the match, will be available at the BayArena. Alternatively it's available free online.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at tonight's game. The audio broadcast begins 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Niko Hartmann and Cedric Pick. In addition, the live text update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
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The Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.
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Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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