Leverkusen are unbeaten in four competitive meetings with Bayern for the first time ever (W2, D2) and now want to extend that run by booking their place in the quarter-finals. However, the Werkself have only prevailed once before out of seven DFB Pokal ties with the Bavarians, which came in the 2008/09 quarters (4-2).
It’s Bayer 04’s first cup tie away at a Bundesliga club for six years, when they won 5-0 at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Werkself have been victorious in their last three Pokal ties on the road at top-flight opposition.
Bayern have failed to reach the final for the last four years, falling in the second round against Holstein Kiel, Gladbach and Saarbrücken, as well as Freiburg at the quarter-final stage. The latter was actually the Munich club’s last home fixture in the cup. The competition’s most successful club will be desperate to go further again this year.
Bayern remain top of the Bundesliga and the only unbeaten team in the division following the weekend’s 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund. Prior to Dortmund’s goal, they had gone seven games and 690 minutes in all competitions without conceding and like Bayer 04 are in good form ahead of Tuesday’s cup encounter. However, they will have to do without the injured Harry Kane. Find out more about our opponents in our in-depth profile piece.
The Werkself will have the support of some 5,000 supporters who’ve made the midweek trip from Leverkusen down to Munich.
The German FA (DFB) has appointed Harm Osmers as Tuesday’s referee. The 39-year-old has previously overseen 16 competitive fixtures involving the Werkself, producing nine wins, four draws and three defeats. His assistants are Dominik Schaal and Stefan Lupp.
Having not been used in the first two rounds of the Pokal, VAR will again be used across all last-16 fixtures. Bastian Dankert will oversee that role for this game. Goalline technology can also be used as of this stage, but it is only available in Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 stadiums.
Bayer 04 picked up their first three points in the current Champions League campaign on matchday 4 in the league phase with a courageous and determined display in a 1-0 win at Benfica (1:0). "It was a hugely important win," said coach Kasper Hjulmand after the game, paying tribute to his players for their battling performance right to the end. The Werkself defended resolutely right to the end and kept out off shot after shot. Keeper Mark Flekken said: "We were determined to get these three points and gave everything we had on the pitch!" Read on for more reaction plus the facts and stats on the away win at the Portuguese record champions in the Werkself review.
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The second European away game takes the Werkself to the Portuguese capital Lisbon. Kasper Hjulmand's team will face record champions Benfica on Wednesday, 5 November (kick-off: 20:00 GMT, 21:00 CET) on matchday 4 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League. As usual, we will take you along on the #aCROSSeurope journey and report from Lisbon. The times given are Central European Time.
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Werkself TV shows highlights of the 1-0 win for Bayer 04 at Benfica on matchday 4 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league phase...
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The Werkself beat Benfica 1-0 on Matchday 4 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase to seal three crucial points! Both teams had promising chances in the first half, but the contest was goalless at half-time. Substitute Patrik Schick headed in to score the only goal after the restart (65’). The home side went looking for an equaliser but Bayer 04 defended passionately to see out the storm.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 win against Hamburger SV on the 9th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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