As usual, the pre-season starts with performance tests at the Werkstatt facility at the BayArena on Thursday and Friday, 5 and 6 July from 08.00 CET. While the tests are held behind closed doors, Werkself fans will have the chance to see their team on the training ground after the summer break. When the squad return to the training ground at 11.00 CET on Saturday 7 July, it will be the first run-out for new signings Lukas Hradecky, Mitchell Weiser and Thorsten Kirschbaum. The Brazilian Paulinho will join his team-mates on 15 July. The two players at World Cup, Tin Jedvaj, who is with Croatia for the quarter-final against Russia on Saturday, and Julian Brandt, on a well-deserved holiday after Germany's exit, will be at the training camp in Zell am See-Kaprun at the end of the month.
The Bayer 04 players will soon be back in the saddle after the return to work: Heiko Herrlich has organised a three-day 'training camp' on bikes for his players – definitely with one eye on focusing his group on the targets for the season ahead. The Werkself team start in Bad Bertrich and will complete the 200 kilometre ride back to Leverkusen in three stages: On Sunday 8 July from Bad Bertrich to Koblenz, on Monday from Koblenz to Bonn and finally, on Tuesday 10 July, the last leg from Bonn to the BayArena. That is followed by two days off on Wednesday and Thursday, 11 and 12 July, before an open training session back home at 16.00 CET on Friday 13 July.
Bayer 04 host Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal. The tie will be played on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, at the BayArena with the kick-off at 20:45 CEST. Information on ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 have the chance to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the third time ever and the first in 14 years at Arsenal on Tuesday night (kick-off 21:00 CEST/20:00 local time). To do that, the Werkself not only require a strong performance like in the first leg, but also full concentration until the very last minute, as the Premier League leaders like to score late - as they did at the BayArena last week. Here's the Matchday News.
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A special award for special social commitment. At this year's ceremony for the Sepp Herberger Awards in Wolfsburg on Monday night, the DFB Sepp Herberger Foundation recognised Bayer 04 in the social rehabilitation category. The Bundesliga club received the prize, together with €12,000, for its great service to inmates, particularly in the Wuppertal-Ronsdorf prison.
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Can Bayer 04 pull off a coup in London? Just over a week after the 1-1 draw in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie, the Werkself are now looking to put in a convincing performance away at Arsenal – and get a result to secure a place in the quarter-finals. Ahead of the match on Tuesday, (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand shared his thoughts on the team’s hunger for success. Exequiel Palacios, meanwhile, spoke about the importance of the fixture and the team’s development over the past few months.
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In their last two matches, they’ve done exactly what 'Laterkusen' did in the 2023/24 double-winning season: late on, but not too late, the Gunners scored crucial goals – first in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 at Bayer 04, then last weekend in the Premier League against Everton. This Tuesday, 17 March (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Arsenal host the Werkself in London. The latest on our opponents.
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