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.
Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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The champions of Slovenia NK Celje are in a European competition for the fourth time in their history. This Wednesday, 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the side lead by head coach Vitor Campelos visit the BayArena for matchday 1 in the group stage in the UEFA Europa League. Celje’s last match at the weekend did not go to plan. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Construction work continues on the ‘Haus der Talente’ on Kurtekottenweg in Leverkusen, where 36 young elite athletes will find a new home from next summer. The building team from Temmink Bau, led by Thomas Wellers, are hard at work. Over the past few days, excavators, wheeled loaders and rollers have removed 2,500 cubic metres of soil to excavate the basement.
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