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 Leverkusen have signed the Germany U17 international Osman Turay. The 17-year-old joins the Werkself for the new season on a free transfer from Schalke 04. The talented left-back will strengthen the Bayer 04 U19 squad.
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Bayer 04 have been drawn away at Sonnenhof Großaspach after Sunday evening’s draw for the first round of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The game will be played on the weekend of 15-18 August, with the exact date and kick-off time to be confirmed in due course.
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The Ivory Coast international Odilon Kossounou has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to top-flight Italian club Atalanta. The Champions League participants from Lombardy took up the option to buy the 1.91 metre central defender who went out on loan to Atalanta at the start of the 2024/25 season.
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Calling all Werkself fans: The new Farbenstadt range is available now from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt. This includes new T-shirts made of 100% organic cotton, zip-up hoodies and jogging bottoms in five different summer colours.
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