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The Werkself made a successful start to the new season with two wins in two Bundesliga games while the Lilies are still looking for their first points in the top-flight on the back of losing the DFB-Pokal tie against fourth tier FC Homburg 08. Xabi Alonso is expecting a tricky opponent at the weekend: "We have to be wide awake and focused on our game. The match against Darmstadt will be a tough one. Their game features a lot of set pieces and long balls. We have to control these situations. Against supposedly weaker opponents, we definitely don't want to make any avoidable mistakes," said Alonso at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
The approach to the last match before the forthcoming international break is clear: The Spaniard added: “We want to win our third league match before the break. That's our declared target."
Patrik Schick, Piero Hincapie plus the suspended Amine Adli are still unavailable. Timothy Fosu-Mensah is also ruled out due to a knee injury. New signing Nathan Tella and Nadiem Amiri will be in the squad.
Almost all the tickets for the Darmstadt game have been sold. There will be an away ticket office on the matchday.
In addition to the Bundesliga game, the members of the media present were also interested in the draw for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League 23/24 that took place just before the press conference. The Werkself will play three champions in Group H in Qarabag (Azerbaijan), Molde (Norway) and BK Häcken (Sweden). Alonso: "Our prime focus is on the Darmstadt game but we are very much looking forward to the Europa League. That is a reward for the hard work from last season. We want to compete and obviously go as far as we can. The group stage won't be easy. We will go into all the games with maximum respect."
The Spaniard then went into more detail on last season in the European competition and why the progress to the semi-finals is above all a special motivation for the new season in Europe: "We had very good experiences and went far. Getting so close to the final makes us hungry for more.”
Bayer 04 taking the home game against Darmstadt as occasion for the first Bayer Sports Family matchday. The historic connection between Bayer 04, TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Bayer AG is being revived under the Cross with joint events like the family matchday and other events. The programme starts with the opening of the stadium at 13.30 CEST in the concourse at the BayArena with a wide range of highlights. Information on the Bayer Sports Family matchday can be found HERE.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against Mainz 05 on Matchday 24 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
A late goal secured a point for Bayer 04 at home to FSV Mainz 05 in a match that saw the Black and Reds dominant in the second half. Despite lots of possession, the Werkself initially found few gaps and fell behind after 67 minutes when Sheraldo Becker scored in a Mainz counter-attack. In the closing stages, Leverkusen threw everything forward once again and equalised through Jarell Quansah (88').
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It is an expression of solidarity and a tribute to the unique fan culture Under the Cross: Bayer 04 Leverkusen make a special statement with the "50 Years of Fan Clubs" jersey. To mark the founding of the "First Fan Club 1976 Leverkusen", which was followed by many more over the years right up to the present day, the Bundesliga club is commemorating 50 years of passion with this new jersey. Highs and lows, successes celebrated together as well as defeats suffered are manifested in this piece of white fabric, a symbol of unwavering identification with the Werkself.
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