This will be the second competitive meeting of Sportfreunde Lotte and Bayer 04. The first encounter was last season in the first round of the DFB Cup. The Werkself clocked up a convincing 3-0 win with Stefan Kießling opening the scoring on 15 minutes. Hakan Calhanoglu (55') and Lars Bender (77') sealed the victory with two goals from the penalty spot.
Lotte knock out Werder Bremen
Sportfreunde Lotte face Bundesliga opposition for the fourth time in their fourth DFB Cup tie. After defeats against VFL Bochum in 2009 (0-1) and Bayer 04 in 2015 (0-3) the third tie against Werder Bremen produced the first victory (2-1).
Lotte ended last season in the Regional League West with a 15 point advantage over the Borussia Mönchengladbach second team. With 83 points Sportfreunde was the most successful regional League side in of Germany in 2015/16.
Since losing out under coach Robin Dutt to Dynamo Dresden in the first round of the cup in 2011/12 (a 4-3 defeat on penalties) the Werkself have reached the last 16 in the last four seasons.
Quarter-finals three times in succession
Bayer 04 have reached the quarter-finals in each of the past three seasons, thus equalling a club record. The last time the Werkself reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup three times on the bounce was between 1991/92 and 1993/94.
The last three seasons saw the Black and Red's go out at the quarter-final stage at home. On the road, Bayer 04 have always gone through in the last nine cup games – a current club record.
Will Chicha score again?
Chicharito Chicharito paved the way to the 2-1 first round success at Hauenstein with his opening goal. In 2015/16 the Mexican scored for cup goals – only Dortmund's Henrikh Mkhitaryan managed more (five goals).
Fernandez:"I would have preferred a different opponent"
Lotte goalkeeper Benedikt Fernandez is a good old friend in Leverkusen. Fernandez spent almost eleven years at Bayer 04 making six Bundesliga appearances for the Werkself. He was in goal for Lotte in last season's 3-0 defeat. "This match was extremely special for me. I recognised a lot of familiar faces after all those years. You can't beat that. That's why I would have preferred a different opponent this time as Bayer will not be an easy team to beat," said the 31 year-old in an interview with DFB.de.
More familiar faces
In addition to Fernandez, Gerrit Nauber, André Dej and Alexander Hettich are three other players at Sportfreunde who used to play for Bayer 04: André Dej, who played for Bayer 04 youth teams, provided the assist for Matthias Rahn to score the first goal in the 2-1 win against Werder Bremen in the first round. And on 54 minutes he netted the winner. Dej was involved in seven attempts on goal - the highest number on the pitch.
Lotte’s first-choice captain Gerrit Nauber moved from the VfL Osnabrück U17s to the Bayer 04 U17s in 2008 and he went on to play for the U19 side and the reserves. In July 2012 Nauber signed for Lotte. Alexander Hettich helped fire the Bayer 04 U19 team to victory over Bayern Munich in extra time in 2007 to win the German U19 title.
Reinforcement in attack: Bayer 04 Leverkusen have secured the transfer of striker Maja Sternad from Bundesliga rivals SV Werder Bremen. The 22-year-old has signed a contract until 30 June 2028.
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It's a thrilling situation: as the season draws to a close, Stuttgart and Bayer 04 are heading into the home stretch almost neck and neck. After 32 games, with 17 wins, seven draws and eight defeats each, both teams are on 58 points. Even in terms of goals scored, VfB and the Werkself are level on 66. The Black and Reds have conceded just three fewer goals (43) than their rivals (46), which is why they sit one place behind fourth-placed Leverkusen. This Saturday, 9 May (kick-off: 15.30 CEST), the two teams go head to head at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with full-back Arthur ahead of schedule. The Werkself have agreed a new deal with the Brazilian to 30 June 2031. The 23-year-old was previously under contract to the summer of 2028.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen continue building the squad for the new season in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga. The 25-year-old midfielder Marlene Müller has joined the club from RB Leipzig on a contract to 30 June 2028.
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Bayer 04 are introducing changes to the ticket price structure for the 2026/27 season. In addition to adjusting the ticket prices, the ticket categories will also be reorganised. All season ticket holders have already been informed of the changes by e-mail. The most important information at a glance.
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