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.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
Show more
Bayer 04 Women finish 2025 with the first game of the second half of the Google Pixel Bundesliga season as they host defending champions and league leaders Bayern Munich at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Monday. Kick-off is at 18:00 CET. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 14 encounter.
Show more
The Werkself may have the festive season off, but four players will still be in action as they compete at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Eliesse Ben Seghir will open the 35th edition of the tournament with hosts Morocco on Sunday, 21 December. Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Ibrahim Maza (Algeria) and Christian Kofane (Cameroon) are also going for continental glory.
Show more
The media wanted to know if Malik Tillman had thought back in September and the team’s indifferent start to the season that they would go into the winter break in third place with 29 points from 15 games. His answer was short and clear: “Honestly, yes, because I simply believe in this team.” That team had just won 3-1 at RB Leipzig, who hadn’t dropped a single point at home previously this season. Here’s all the round-up from the game in our Werkself Review.
Show more
