Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.
On the back of the "great atmosphere at the stadium and good team performance” in the home game against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday (3-0), Xabi Alonso and the Werkself are looking forward to the final match in 2023.
VfL Bochum also go into the game on the back of a win: The team led by coach Thomas Letsch beat Union Berlin 3-0 at home at the weekend. "They played very well and are a team with a heart that battles," said Alonso at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon where he also made it clear: "We're playing at home, we definitely want to win."
If the Werkself beat Bochum or the match ends all square then it would be the 25th match in succession without defeat. That would set a new record in the Bundesliga. Before the Werkself this season, only Hamburg SV went 24 games without defeat (1982/83). In response to a question about the potential record, Alonso said: "I don't think too much about records. We just want to win our games. Of course, we're happy if that brings records with it."
Exequiel Palacios is unavailable for this game. The Argentinian midfield enforcer picked up a fifth yellow card against Eintracht Frankfurt. "Of course, we'll miss him, he's developed very well this year and has had a great season to date. We'll wait and see who starts tomorrow," said Alonso who named Robert Andrich, Gustavo Puerta and also Alejandro Grimaldo as potential alternatives in this position.
The fact the Spaniard has so many options in terms of personnel is also due to the low number of injuries in the Werkself squad in the season to date. Alonso on that: "Obviously injuries can always happen but we haven't suffered from that yet. Our medical team is working hard to prevent and avoid injuries. In principle, that's as important as the training sessions themselves."
Bochum come to Leverkusen as the team that inflicted the last defeat on Bayer 04: VfL won 3-0 at home at the end of May to secure their top-flight status while the Werkself qualified for the Europa League. Alonso and his players dealt with that result a long time ago.
Now it is time to look forward to the final game of the year at the BayArena. Asked about the relationship between the team, club and fans, the Spaniard said: "Feeling the enthusiasm of the fans and celebrating together is a great feeling for me and almost as important as the points themselves. We want to create that feeling as often as possible in the New Year as well."
The fans at the BayArena should stay after the final whistle for a brief and communal festive conclusion to the year. Players, coaches and staff will gather in the centre circle and sing two Christmas carols with the fans with the backing of a choir.

The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
Show more
The third showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 kicks off for the Leverkusen eSports team this Thursday, 11 December (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Red will once again take on six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round, which will take place at this third showdown on 19 December in Cologne. Showdown One winners Bayer 04 will face FC St. Pauli, who won the second showdown last month, among others. The lowdown on first three opponents in this online preliminary round.
Show more
The exact dates for the quarter-finals of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal have been finalised. Accordingly, Bayer 04's home tie against Bundesliga rivals FC St. Pauli will be played on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, with the kick-off at 20:45 CET. This was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) today (Thursday).
Show more
After a strong first half, the Werkself conceded twice against Newcastle United in the UEFA Champions League but fought back and " deservedly earned the draw at the end", as captain Robert Andrich aptly put it. Despite opportunities for further Bayer 04 goals, the positive feeling about the irrepressible commitment the final minutes predominated. The Werkself review.
Show more
Alejandro Grimaldo, of course! With his late equaliser (88') in the Champions League clash against Newcastle United, the Spaniard rescued a point for the Werkself, who took the lead through an own goal by Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (13') but went with two goals for the visitors scored by Anthony Gordon (51') and Lewis Miley (74'). It was the third draw for Bayer 04 in the current 2025/26 campaign on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase.
Show more