The Werkself could reach the final of a major European competition for the third time in the club's history today, having previously achieved this in 1987/88 in the UEFA Cup and in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League.
Roma, meanwhile, could become the third team to reach the UEFA Europa League final in consecutive seasons after Benfica (2012/13 and 2013/14) and Sevilla (2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16). To do that, the Italian club will have to improve on their record on German soil: Roma have not won any of their previous six European away games against German sides, scoring just six goals in the process.
After the semi-final first leg, Roma were back in league action on Sunday at home to Juventus. With a much-changed starting line-up, including a completely reshaped defence, the Giallorossi drew 1-1 with the third-placed 'Old Lady', Romelu Lukaku scoring the goal for the hosts. Given the tight situation in the Serie A table, the point wasn't enough for coach Daniele De Rossi, "because a draw doesn't help us currently". The result saw AS slip from the fifth Champions League spot to sixth as rivals Atalanta won their match. There's more on Roma in our opposition check.
For Bayer 04 fans attending the second leg, there'll be a fan fest on Rathaus-Platz in Wiesdorf from 13:30, organised by the Nordkurve12 fan group. As well as atmospheric music, there'll be cold drinks and a range of food on offer. The event will finish around 18:30 with a march to the BayArena.
Danny Makkelie from the Netherlands is the referee for tonight's encounter. The 41-year-old official will be assisted by compatriots Hessel Steegstra and Jan de Vries on the touchlines and Rob Dieperink as the VAR.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
Show more
“As far as mentality and determination are concerned, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” Robert Andrich said up after the first home defeat for the Werkself this term. In terms of their play, too, the Black and Reds put in a respectable performance for long stretches of this intense and physical match, outperforming VfB Stuttgart in most areas. It was only in terms of efficiency in front of goal that the Swabians had the edge over the Werkself. Head coach Carles Martínez wants to learn from this so that, in future, they can “win this sort of match too”. The Werkself review.
Show more
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career working as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show more
Having previously recorded six consecutive home wins across all competitions, Bayer 04 suffered their first home defeat of 2026/27 as they went down 4-2 to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Matchday 8. The visitors capitalised on their first two chances to score, with Ermedin Demirovic and Jamie Leweling finding the net in the first half. Although Patrik Schick got a goal back in the first half, Bilal El Khannouss and Demirovic again added further goals for Stuttgart. Bayer 04 didn’t give up, but Ibrahim Maza’s goal proved little more than a consolation.
Show more
Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
Show more
