The objective in showdown four is clear: After two rather disappointing outings, the aim now is to build on the strong performance in the first showdown, which Bayer 04 won. As one of the 16 teams with the most points out of 35 teams in the online preliminary round, the Black and Reds are looking to go through to the offline knockout round to be played in Berlin on 2 February where they will fight for victory in the showdown and further important points for the overall table. The points from all online preliminary rounds (3 per win) and offline rounds (2 per win) of the five showdowns will be added together in this table, which will decide who advances to the final round of the German Club Championship next year.
The first match was against VfB Stuttgart. When Sean 'SEAN_LDW07' Landwehr lost 3-2 to Denis ‘DENIS’ Müller in the first duel, the match appeared to have got off to a false start. But that was the only defeat on the night! Against Dylan ‘DULLENMIKE’ Neuhausen, Marc 'MARC_LDW23' Landwehr stayed calm and collected as he produced a goal fest. In the end, he secured victory in match number one with an 8-3 scoreline and the first three points in 2026.
The duels against Hannover 96 continued, with Sean Landwehr and Djamal ‘DJAMALJNR’ Golla playing out a close game that gradually turned in Bayer 04's favour. After being level at 1-1, Sean took a 5-2 lead. Two more goals from Hannover made it exciting again, but the 5-4 win was good enough for Sean in the end. Marc Landwehr then followed up by beating Mustafa ‘XMUSTI19’ Cankal 7-0 - with everything from fantastic free-kick goals and long-range strikes to impressive counter-attacking goals as a result of quick transitions.
The perfect start to the new year and showdown four still needed a win against FC Augsburg - and the Landwehr cousins secured it in a commanding fashion. Sean Landwehr took a 3-0 lead against Yannic ‘YANNIC0109’ Bederke. The Leverkusen player responded to two Augsburg goals by scoring two more - in the end it was 5-2. Marc, who was in outstanding form, then gave Niklas ‘NIKLASRANK’ Rank no chance as he delivered the next resounding victory. The score was 7-1, with the Leverkusen player again impressing with a composed performance and impressive strtikes. Leverkusen made a perfect start by picking up nine points. They are currently second in the Showdown Four table and seventh in the overall table.
Showdown four results:
Showdown 4 (online preliminary round) - Game 1
VfB Stuttgart (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘DENIS’ 3-2 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘DULLENMIKE’ 3-8 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Result: 6:10
Showdown 4 (online preliminary round) - Game 2
Hannover 96 (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘DJAMALJNR’ 4-5 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘XMUSTI19’ 0-7 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Result: 4:12
Showdown 4 (online preliminary round) - Game 3
FC Augsburg (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘YANNIC0109’ 2-5 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘NIKLASRANK’ 1-7 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Result: 3:12
The #B04eSports players are next in action with the final three matches of the preliminary round. They face FC Kaiserslautern, RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg. The current German club champions and Showdown Three winners await the Landwehr cousins in Leipzig, following on from some memorable moments against the team from Saxony last year. More on this in the lowdown on our next opponents on Tuesday.
The matchday kicks off at 18:00 CET and the games will be broadcast live as usual on the Leverkusen Twitch channel and on the Bayer 04 app.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 put in a brilliant performance to beat RB Leipzig 4-1 on Bundesliga matchday 32 and are now fourth in a Champions League spot. The Black and Reds took control of the game right from the start and, with 75 per cent possession at one stage, took a 2-0 lead into the break through Patrik Schick (25’) and Nathan Tella (45+1’). The visitors initially tried to do more after the break, but the Werkself remained determined and Schick scored his second goal to increase the lead to 3-0 (76'). The Red Bulls pulled a goal back through Christoph Baumgartner (80'), but the disciplined Leverkusen side were not rattled - and certainly not Schick: The Czechia international crowned a brilliant display with his third goal shortly before the final whistle to make the final score 4-1.
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In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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