
The Rhineland rivals were relegated from the FLYERALARM last season –Heike Ullrich, deputy general secretary of the DFB, picked out the two clubs and gave them another derby to look forward to in the cup. The two clubs meet for the first time in the DFB Cup.
A total of 32 teams are involved in the second round of the DFB Cup. The twelve teams from the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga are in this round – the Werkself Women received a bye in the first round.
The second round is – as with the first – split into north and south regional groups. The allocation of the teams to these groups was decided by the DFB Committee for Women’s and Girl’s Football according to geographical location. Bayer 04 are in the North Group.
The second round will be played on 31 October and 1 November.
North Group:
Borussia Bocholt MSV Duisburg
Magdeburger FC v Turbine Potsdam
FC Köln v Bayer 04 Leverkusen
VfL Bochum v VfL Wolfsburg
FSV Gütersloh 2009 v SGS Essen
SV Henstedt-Ulzburg v SV Meppen
Fortuna Köln v SV Werder Bremen
TV Jahn Delmenhorst v Walddörfer SV Hamburg
RB Leipzig v SV Berghofen
South Group:
SC Opel Rüsselsheim v SC Freiburg
FC Carl Zeiss Jena v FC Bayern München
SV Göttelborn v SC Sand
FC Ingolstadt v TSG Hoffenheim
Karlsruher SC v Eintracht Frankfurt
SV 67 Weinberg v FFV Erfurt
SG 99 Andernach v FC Saarbrücken


Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Carles Martínez Novell. Bayer 04 have appointed the 42-year-old Spaniard as the new head coach on a contract to 2028. Martínez most recently worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. He previously spent four years at Barcelona's legendary academy La Masia in his home city. Bayer04.de introduces Martínez in more detail.
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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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