The second round DFB Cup tie between the Werkself Women's team and the newly promoted side from Bundesliga 2 North, to be played between 25 and 27 September, will be the first meeting of the two clubs – and will also bring a reunion with two former Leverkusen players: Frederike Kempe and Gianna Rackow left the club in the summer to head east.
Leipzig came through the first round with a 10-0 victory against ATS Buntentor from the Regional League North. Bayer 04 are only now in the competition as one of the ten best-placed teams in the FLYERALARM Women's Bundesliga as they each received a bye.
The first two rounds of the cup are played in regional groups. The allocation of the qualified teams these groups is made by the DFB Committee for Women's and Girls’ football according to geographic criteria.
Northern Group:
SV Meppen (Women's Bundesliga 2) vs SGS Essen (Women's Bundesliga)
RB Leipzig (Women's Bundesliga 2) vs Bayer 04 (Women's Bundesliga)
Borussia Bocholt (Women's Bundesliga 2) vs SV Werder Bremen (Women's Bundesliga)
MSV Duisburg (Women's Bundesliga 2) vs VfL Wolfsburg (Women's Bundesliga)
DSC Arminia Bielefeld (Regional League West) vs FC Köln (Women's Bundesliga)
Hannover 96 (Regional League North) vs FFC Turbine Potsdam (Women's Bundesliga)
FSV Babelsberg 74 (Regional League North-East) vs Sportfreunde Siegen (Regional League West)
Hamburger SV (Regional League North) vs FSV Gütersloh (Women's Bundesliga 2)
Rostocker FC (Regional League North-East) vs SV Henstedt-Ulzburg (Women's Bundesliga 2)
Southern Group:
Hegauer FV (Oberliga Baden-Württemberg/Division 4) vs FC Carl Zeiss Jena (Women's Bundesliga)
SV Elversberg (Women's Bundesliga 2) vs FC Bayern München (Women's Bundesliga)
SG 99 Andernach (Women's Bundesliga 2) vs SC Sand (Women's Bundesliga)
FC Würzburger Kickers (Regional League South) vs TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (Women's Bundesliga)
FC Nürnberg (Women's Bundesliga 2) vs SG Eintracht Frankfurt (Women's Bundesliga)
SpVgg Germania Ebing (North Bavaria State League/Division 5) vs SC Freiburg (Women's Bundesliga)
Wormatia Worms (Regional League South-West) vs Karlsruher SC (Regional League South)
Midfielder Ruby Grant is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and joining Portuguese runners-up Sporting CP a year before her contract expires. The 24-year-old has been at the Werkself since January 2025.
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Bayer 04 have loaned Brazilian full-back Arthur to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for one year. Arthur Augusto de Matos Soares – the full name of the right-back – has a contract with Leverkusen until 30 June 2031. At Werder, the 23-year-old is expected to make an impact and help the long-established club further consolidate their position in the Bundesliga.
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Bayer 04 have loaned defender Jeanuel Belocian to Spanish top-flight side Racing Santander. The 21-year-old defender joins the team currently ninth in La Liga until the end of the current 2026/27 season. Belocian’s contract remains valid until 30 June 2029. Last season, the 1.86-metre-tall U21 international was loaned to VfL Wolfsburg for six months.
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He knows the dressing room, the pitch and the club. But, above all, he knows the feeling of playing for the Werkself at the BayArena: Moussa Diaby is back in Leverkusen after three years. The lightning-fast winger has signed a contract with Bayer 04 until 2031 and he will once again wear the number 19 jersey. The left-footed player previously played for the club from 2019 to 2023, having arrived in the Rhineland from his native France as a promising young talent and eventually leaving the club – having established himself as one of the Bundesliga’s best attackers – to join Aston Villa in the Premier League. Now he has returned to Bayer 04 from Al-Ittihad FC in Saudi Arabia.
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