The Black and Reds arrived in Saarland on Friday afternoon. Lukas Hradecky and Co. stayed in the state capital Saarbrücken overnight with today's agenda including a walk, a brief meeting and lunch. After that, the Werkself will make the 90 minute journey to Elversberg on the team bus.
Jonathan Tah and Co. will make their first appearance in the red home kit from the new supplier Castore at the URSAPHARM Arena. The hosts Elversberg will play in all white.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Martin Petersen as the referee for the DFB Cup tie in Elversberg. The 37-year-old has previously refereed five games involving the Werkself – with the Black and Reds clocking up three convincing wins with a total of eleven goals in those encounters. One match was lost and the other ended all square.
Petersen’s assistants are Robert Wessel and Christian Ballweg, the fourth official is Benedikt Kempes. Have a good game.
While the Werkself start the league campaign next weekend, today's hosts have already played one game in the third division – and they hit the ground running. In a clash between newly promoted clubs, the team under head coach Horst Steffen registered an impressive 5-1 win away at Rot-Weiss Essen. Further information on the team from Saarland can be found in our profile of the next opponents.
SV 07 Elversberg and Bayer 04 meet for the first time in a competitive match. The Saarlanders are opponents number 211 for the Werkself – only Bayern Munich played more teams in German professional football (233 including DFB Cup first round ties). SVE have won once in eight matches against Bundesliga clubs: They beat Hannover 96 on penalties in the first round in 2010/11.
Bayer 04 are one of five clubs to have progressed from round one in all of the last ten seasons (as have Borussia Dortmund, SC Freiburg, by Munich and FC Köln). The last time the Werkself were knocked out in the first round was back in 2011/12 with a 4-3 defeat after extra time at Dynamo Dresden. Bayer 04 have proved to be prolific in the DFB Cup: The Black and Reds have scored at least one goal (69 goals) in the last 25 games in the domestic cup competition with no other team on target as often in the competition.
The German Football League (DFL) have put the DFB Cup first round ties under the motto of sustainability and climate protection to draw more attention to these issues in German professional football. A number of environmental protection measures are planned, for example a minute of action: That means all the cup games will kick off one minutes late to allow appeals and information on climate protection and sustainability.
In addition to a number of measures by the home club, Bayer 04 will also draw attention to these issues as the visitors in the cup tie at SV 07 Elversberg. Werkself skipper Lukas Hradecky will wear an alternative captain's armband made of sustainable material covered with logos and slogans on the issue of climate protection. In addition, Bayer 04 will take part in a fundraising campaign with €100 donated for every goal they score. The funds will be handed over to the DFB and the not-for-profit organisation ‘Sports for Future’ that supports climate protection projects. The DFB will double the funds raised by the clubs at the end of the matchday.
Happy birthday, Kevin. The former Werkself player Kevin Volland is 30 today. The striker joined Leverkusen from TSG Hoffenheim in 2016 and he went on to make his debut in the Champions League and the Europa League for the Black and Reds. The Allgäu-born forward was at Leverkusen for four years before moving on to the top French club AS Monaco. In his time at Bayer 04, Volland made 148 appearances and he also captained the Werkself in several games.
The new eSports season is just around the corner. The VBL Club Championship by WOW starts on Thursday 15 October (from 18:00 CEST). And, as every year, here’s an overview: What changes are there? What is staying the same?
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Bayer 04 record-appearance maker Rüdiger Vollborn invites you to another evening in the popular ‘Rudi lädt ein’ series: on Tuesday 10 November, in collaboration with Bayer AG, the focus will be on the Nazi period. The focus will be on football, Bayer 04 and the city of Leverkusen.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has secured a new network partner in Extreme Networks GmbH. The leading provider of AI-powered network automation has agreed a five-year partnership with the Bundesliga club, running until 30 June 2031. As part of this, the club’s existing Wi-Fi 5 infrastructure will be replaced by more than 400 Wi-Fi 7 access points, which are specifically designed to meet the requirements of a stadium with a high user density. The aim is to enhance the fan experience while optimising operational processes and security.
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New signing Miguel Gutiérrez has made a good start at Leverkusen and has promptly earned a nomination for Player of the Month in his first few weeks in the Bundesliga. He has scored one goal and provided three assists in four league games. The Spanish left-back has also brought some impressive stats with him to Bayer 04. Issue #56 of the Werkself magazine has taken a look at these figures. ‘Facts & Fun’ with Miguel Gutiérrez.
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With seven points, Mainz 05 are currently joint seventh, level on points with sixth-placed Bayer 04. In today’s head-to-head clash (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself must be particularly wary of the clinical Mainz strike duo. For Leverkusen fans who have left it to the last minute, there are still a few tickets available from the matchday ticket office. Those following the Black and Reds from home, on the other hand, have a choice: RTL is broadcasting the match on free-to-air TV, and Werkself Radio is also offering the expert commentary of former Bayer 04 player Falko Götz. Today’s matchday news.
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