The Werkself have played 04 home games in Europe this season, winning all of them and scoring at least three goals in the process (17 in total). Should Leverkusen repeat the feat against West Ham, they would equal the competition record which saw Chelsea win five straight home games by scoring at least three goals in the 2018/19 campaign.
However, it’s not just at the BayArena where Bayer 04 have impressed in Europe this season. Their eight fixtures in the competition for 2023/24 have brought seven wins and one draw, scoring 24 times. The only years in which Leverkusen have scored more continental goals were in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup (26) and in the 2001/02 Champions League runners-up campaign (29).
Our English opponents do appear to have the means to defend against this Werkself attack, having conceded the fewest goals of all teams who started the Europa League in the group stage (five). In fact, the Hammers have let in only one goal in their last five continental fixtures. They have also allowed the fewest clear-cut chances in the competition this season with nine; Bayer 04 rank second in that regard with 12.
Mark Noble, who took over as West Ham’s sporting director in January 2023, said looking ahead to facing Leverkusen: “Their unbeaten run is incredible. They also have lots of top players in their side and a fantastic coach.” But the Hammers’ record appearance holder with 414 Premier League games also added: “We’ve got no fear. We’ve gained a lot of experience in Europe in recent years. And someone has to beat them at some point, so why not us? They’ll be entertaining games, I’m sure.”
The weekend’s 2-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers was only their fourth competitive victory of this year from 17 fixtures, also losing six and drawing seven in 2024. However, things are going much better this season for the club from London’s East End than 2022/23. With six games left to go, David Moyes’ side are already eight points better off than their final total last season as they finished 14. Find out more about today’s opponents in our opposition profile.
UEFA have appointed Artur Dias of Portugal to oversee this first leg. The 44-year-old has previously overseen two Werkself fixtures, producing one win (2-0 away at Ferencvaros) and one defeat (1-0 away at Atletico Madrid). His assistants are compatriots Paulo Soares and Pedro Ribeiro. The VAR is Tiago Martins.
Anyone wanting to read key information before the game should take a look at the new Werkself Live. The matchday programme, offering the most important facts and stats on the game in compact form, is available at the BayArena. Alternatively it is available free online HERE.
As usual, Werkself Radio is available for anybody unable to be at today’s game. The German audio broadcast begins 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Niko Hartmann and Cedric Pick. In addition, the live text update service will keep you up-to-date to ensure you don't miss any of the key match action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text updates are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-0 win against FC Carl Zeiss Jena on the 21th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
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Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action this weekend. Following their elimination in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are away to FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 27. Ahead of the clash in the eastern Swabian Alps, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the fixture and the chances of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
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A quick look at the table shows the situation at FC Heidenheim is serious. The Bundesliga bottom club are already ten points behind the play-off spot with their backs to the wall in sporting terms. With eight games left to play, avoiding relegation appears to be a mission impossible. Nevertheless, they are far from flying the white flag at the Schlossberg ahead of the clash with the Werkself this Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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