As with Bochum, Fortuna Köln are familiar opponents for Bayer 04 in friendly matches. The last time the two teams met was in November last year with Leverkusen winning 1-0 at the Haberland Stadium. The goalscorer was Kai Havertz who, five days earlier, had become the youngest ever player to make his debut for the Werkself in the Bundesliga match against Darmstadt 98. Back then, Bayer 04 played Fortuna without 15 internationals and this time it will be nine – plus the two U19 players Sam Schreck and Atakan Akkaynak. The injured Charles Aránguiz (Chile) and Tin Jedvaj (Croatia) are unable to play for their countries this time round.
Head coach Heiko Herrlich will again use the opportunity against Köln to give time on the pitch to players in his squad who have not appeared much recently – such as goalkeeper Rambo Özcan, Stefan Kießling, André Ramalho, Vladlen Yurchenko and Marlon Frey. Fortuna Köln have had an excellent start to their third division campaign and are currently third in the table behind Paderborn and Magdeburg after eleven games. The team coached by Uwe Koschinat have only lost one game and they secured a 3-1 victory in their last match at Großaspach.
Bayer 04 have arranged another friendly for the third international window of the season against MSV Duisburg on 9 November.
Welcome back! On Tuesday morning, 11 August, Jarell Quansah and Exequiel Palacios – the last of the Werkself’s World Cup participants – returned to training. The two medallists and their team-mates are set to play their final two pre-season friendlies in England this week before the start of competitive fixtures.
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Bayer 04 have unveiled the new third kit for the 2026/27 season. The design, developed by kit supplier New Balance, combines the city’s colours with symbols that have defined Leverkusen and Bayer 04 for generations.
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Tickets for the first two Bayer 04 women’s team home games are now on general sale. A week after their league opener away at RB Leipzig, Roberto Pätzold’s side will face last season’s runners-up, VfL Wolfsburg, in the first home fixture on Sunday 30 August (kick-off: 16:00 CEST). Fifteen days later, on Monday night, 14 September (kick-off: 18:00 CEST), the Leverkusen Women host German champions Bayern Munich at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for a top-of-the-table league clash. You can now also select specific seats via the online shop. The latest information on match ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without Montrell Culbreath for the start of the 2026/27 season. The forward injured his foot injury in yesterday’s preseason friendly against Spanish top-flight side Sevilla (2–1), which rules him out of action for the time being. Culbreath’s diagnosis is not yet complete; further examinations are to follow in the coming days.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended midfielder Noah Mbamba’s contract by twelve months and sent the Belgian U21 international on loan to France. At FC Lorient, the 21-year-old – whose contract at Leverkusen now runs to 30 June 2029 – is set to gain playing time in Ligue 1 and, through strong performances and further development, put himself in the running for a future place in the Werkself squad.
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