The first friendly last Saturday was successfully negotiated with a 4-0 victory over Wuppertaler SV and now the second week of the pre-season brings the next two friendlies. And that will see Bayer 04 playing in red! The Werkself will be playing in the new home shirt for the first time. International players Kai Havertz, Tin Jedvaj, Aleksandar Dragovic and Paulinho could feature having returned to training on Monday following their extended time away due to their international duties.
Anyone wanting to watch the games live at the Academy can secure a ticket for three euros. They are available from the Bayer 04 Shop in Wiesdorf (Wiesdorfer Platz 9) and from the Fan House (Breidenbachstraße 46). Proceeds from the sale of the tickets will be donated to the Leverkusen Fan Project.
Our opponents:
Fortuna Sittard:
Last season's newcomers to the Eredivisie managed to avoid immediate relegation by finishing 15th in the table. Sittard return to the Dutch top flight in 2018 for the first time in 16 years. The top goalscorer last season was the American Andrija Novakovich with nine goals. The club played in Europe in 1984/85 reaching the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners Cup where they lost out to Everton 5-0 on aggregate. In 1998 they took part in the Intertoto Cup losing 4-3 on aggregate to Austria Salzburg in the semi-finals. Last summer Bayer 04 beat the visitors from Sittard 2-0 in a friendly.
KAS Eupen:
Eupen ended last season twelfth in Belgium's Jupiler League. One player from last season is well known at Leverkusen: Julian Schauerte, brought through the youth ranks at Bayer 04, played for KAS last term but is now with third division side Preußen Münster. The 31-year-old defender previously played for Fortuna Düsseldorf and SV Sandhausen. Eupen have a lot of African players in their squad after the Aspire Zone Foundation from Qatar started investing in the club in 2012. Bayer 04 lost 2-1 to Eupen in a friendly at the Haberland Stadium in 2013.
The next match in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga has been scheduled: The Werkself will play their Matchday 11 game on a Saturday afternoon. This was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Wednesday afternoon.
Show moreThe Bayer 04 U19s produced an outstanding performance despite numerous absentees to take a point against Paris Saint-Germain on Matchday 3 of the UEFA Youth League 2025/26 following on from two wins in the European youth competition. In front of 611 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, the Leverkusen side went into the break with a 1-0 lead against the U19 team of the Champions League winners. PSG quickly turned the game around after the break, but the Werkself fought back to remain unbeaten on the European stage with this 2-2 draw thanks to a focussed defensive display.
Show moreRaimundo Souza Vieira de Oliveira, better known as Raí, is one of the most successful players in Paris Saint-Germain's club history. In 1995/96, for example, the attacking midfielder and his team-mates secured a historic triumph when they led the French capital club to the first European trophy in winning the European Cup Winners' Cup. In an interview with bayer04.de, the 51-time Brazil international (16 goals), now a director at Ligue 1 club Paris FC, talks about his anticipation ahead of PSG's upcoming Champions League clash with the Werkself. The 60-year-old also analyses the French record champions' season to date and provides some interesting insights into the perception of Bayer 04 during his playing days.
Show moreThe reigning UCL champions visit the BayArena. The Werkself host Paris Saint-Germain on Matchday 3 of the league phase in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign tonight, 21 October (kick-off: 21:00 CEST/live on Prime Video and Werkself Radio). Bayer 04 will face a team packed with top stars. Fans must be prepared for delays and diversions when travelling to and from the match. Read on for the latest updates in our UCL matchday news.
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