
The Werkself have arranged another friendly during an international break. That was also the case at the end of August when Heiko Herrlich's team lost 2-1 against VfL Bochum. The next break in the league and cup campaign sees Bayer 04 take on local third division club SC Fortuna Köln in a friendly on Thursday 5 October (15.00 CET, also at the Haberland Stadium).
There is another international break in the middle of November in between Bundesliga matchdays 11 and 12. The opponents on 9 November are MSV Duisburg who are newly promoted to the second division. The team coached by Ilia Gruev are currently eleventh in the table. The MSV squad includes former Leverkusen player Gerrit Nauber, who played for the Bayer 04 U17, U19 and Reserve teams between 2008 and 2012 . The match at the Haberland Stadium kicks off at 15.00 CET.

After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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Newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg will begin the 2026/27 season as Bundesliga club number 59. The Saarland club start their first Bundesliga campaign at home to the Werkself on Saturday, 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST) at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, which is currently being rebuilt. For one Leverkusen player in the ‘Elv’ line-up, the clash will be a special reunion. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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