Jeremie Frimpong was the Bayer 04 player who took part in the press conference, with Carl Starfelt as the Celtic player representative. The Swedish defender said: “Leverkusen have an amazing team. They’ve had a great start to the season and have a lot of very good players in their ranks. It’ll be a tough test for us, but we know we’re very strong at Celtic Park. So, we’ll go out there tomorrow evening and enjoy this great challenge.”
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou added: “Every match is a challenge. And when you want to progress, home games are key – regardless of other results. We’ve got a great evening ahead of us.”
UEFA have appointed Italian Marco di Bello to referee this fixture. The 40-year-old made his debut in Serie A back in 2012. He’s never overseen a Leverkusen game before but has previously come across midfielder Nadiem Amiri. The Werkself man started the Germany U21’s 2-1 win over England in March 2019 with Di Bello at the whistle.
Hradecky & Co. will have some support among the fervent Celtic Park faithful. Around 200 Bayer 04 fans have made the trip to Glasgow. Great to have them along!
The opponent may be different but the hotel is the same. The Werkself are again staying near Glasgow’s main station, which was also their base when they earned a 3-1 win at Rangers in March last year.
There was a nice story for the travelling Werkself in the local papers. The Scottish Sun had spoken with Michael Henke – Ottmar Hitzfeld’s assistant when Bayern Munich won the Champions League in 2001 – about Leverkusen’s current form. “They’ve showed very good performances so far. Everything points to them winning. Their performances are a little surprising because they brought in a coach not really known in Germany and have a young team.”
The 64-year-old also spoke about Florian Wirtz: “He’s only 18 but has already scored five goals and got five assists. He plays so nonchalant, like he was a mature player and had many years of experience as a professional footballer.”
It’s been very much Patrik Schick’s year after his five goals for the Czech Republic at the Euros. The 25-year-old has now also started the season in fine scoring form with the Werkself, netting four times in six games in the Bundesliga. No surprise, then, that former Germany international Stefan Effenberg has named the Bayer 04 man in his top 10 strikers in Europe right now. Top of the pile was Robert Lewandowski, with Schick in eighth.
Bayer 04 have transferred U19 midfielder Emmanuel Chigozie Owen to FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended youngster Montrell Culbreath's contract once again. Having only signed a deal with the Bundesliga club until 30 June 2030 in January, still as an U19 player, the attacking midfielder, who's since established himself in the first-team squad, has penned a new contract valid until 30 June 2031. Culbreath joined the Werkself academy in 2023 and made 16 first-team appearances in the 2025/26 season in the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Champions League, scoring one goal.
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Ecuador international Piero Hincapie, who moved to Arsenal FC on loan from Bayer 04 Leverkusen for the 2025/26 season, will join the English champions permanently on 1 July 2026.
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The date and kick-off time for Bayer 04’s match in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal have been confirmed. The Werkself face SV Wehen Wiesbaden on Saturday afternoon, 22 August, at 13:00 CEST. The German Football Association (DFB) announced this today, Wednesday. The Pokal tie against the Hessen state cup winners will be played at the BRITA Arena. Ticket information to follow at a later date.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro will lead a club delegation to Brazil from July 2-6 for a program of partner engagement, community activities and football development initiatives across São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
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