
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


Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
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After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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