22.08.2026DFB-Pokal

Matchday news: Season kicks off in DFB Pokal

Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.

WERKSELFgo: the Bayer 04 car-share scheme

The new season is here for the Werkself; for Bayer 04 supporters there is now a new way of travelling to matches: with the free car-share platform WERKSELFgo, fans can now organise their journeys to Leverkusen matches easily and conveniently. Through WERKSELFgo, you can form car-share groups with other Bayer 04 supporters, find lifts and share travel costs. How does it all work? Simply register on the platform using your Bayer 04 account, search for a lift or post a journey yourself. The passengers decide how much it should cost. More information is available HERE.

WERKSELFgo!

#SVWWB04: match facts

The fixture itself is also a first – Bayer 04 and Wehen Wiesbaden have never faced each other before in a competitive match. Having won six out of seven pre-season friendlies, the Werkself are aiming to come away as winners in Hessen too and, as they have done in 13 of the past 14 seasons, reach the second round of the DFB Pokal. Head coach Carles Martínez is hoping for an equally successful start to the season as do the new signings, including Afonso Moreira, Miguel Gutiérrez and Facundo Medina .

Christian Kofane showed how it’s done at the start of last season: The striker scored on his debut to make 3-0 in the first-round tie against SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (4–0).

Thumbs up from Christian Kofane: The Cameroonian scored his first Werkself goal in last season’s DFB Pokal first-round tie.

focus on SV wehen wiesbaden

SV Wehen are currently bottom of the Liga 3 table after two defeats in their first two games. And this despite the fact that coach Daniel Scherning’s side beat Bayern Munich 2–1 in a pre-season friendly. The Wiesbaden side put in a similarly strong performance against the record champions in the first round of DFB Pokal last term, when they came back from 2-0 down and only conceded the third – and decisive – goal in injury time. Now Scherning wants to use the upcoming opener against the Werkself to build confidence: “Especially this early in the season, we see the match as an opportunity.” What else sets the team from Hessen apart is revealed in our lowdown on our next opponents.

#SVWWB04 kompakt:

Auswärtsfans: 3.700 (ausverkauft) – Faninfos
Spielort: BRITA Arena, Wiesbaden
Schiedsrichter: Christian Dingert
Bayer 04-Übertragung: Werkself-Radio und Liveticker auf bayer04.de sowie in der Bayer 04-App
TV: Sky Sport
Stream: WOW und Sky Go

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