Basaksehir, managed by the former Turkey coach Abdullah Avci, have experienced a massive upturn in fortune over recent years and have broken into the leading group of the big three Istanbul clubs Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas. Last term's Süper Lig saw them finish third just three points behind champions Galatasaray and this September they are in the UEFA Europa League along with Bayer 04. Before that, they were runners-up once and finished fourth twice.
The squad has a number of internationally experienced pros: Goalkeeper Volkan Babacan, Arda Turan (100 internationals for Turkey and previously in Spain at Barcelona and Atlético Madrid), Emre (95 international caps for Turkey), Gökhan Inler (89 caps for Switzerland), Gael Clichy (18 internationals for France) and the Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor, top scorer for Basaksehirs last season with 15 goals and for many years in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Arsenal. Familiar faces from the Bundesliga are the Serb Milos Jojic, signed this week from FC Köln, the Brazilian Junior Caicara (Schalke 04) plus Eljero Elia, who played for Werder Bremen and Hamburg.
Before that, Bayer 04 have friendly fixtures against SV Roßbach (18 July), Sportfreunde Siegen (21 July), Wuppertaler SV (24 July) and Fortuna Sittard (28 July). Following the training camp in Austria there is a match against Valencia (11 August).
Bayer 04 are away at RB Leipzig for their final fixture of 2025 in the Bundesliga on Saturday (kick-off: 18:30 CET). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 15 encounter at the Red Bull Arena.
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Despite a major personnel shake-up in the summer, RB Leipzig have performed impressively this term. Ahead of matchday 15, coach Ole Werner's team are second in the Bundesliga with a three-point lead over their upcoming opponents Bayer 04. This Saturday, 20 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET), the Werkself are away to RBL who are strong at home. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04's final game of the year at RB Leipzig on Saturday night, 20 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET), will also see Robert Andrich and David Raum go head-to-head. In an interview with bayer04.de and rbleipzig.com, the two team captains spoke about the importance of this match, their friendship and a WhatsApp group with Joshua Kimmich.
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Bayer 04, currently fourth in the table, end the year with a top match away to second-placed RB Leipzig on Saturday, 20 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET). Head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke ahead of the game about the importance of this fixture and an unusual but welcome week of training. The Dane also provided a squad update.
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The German Football League (DFL) has scheduled matchdays 20 to 24 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. The dates at a glance.
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