The first friendly last Saturday was successfully negotiated with a 4-0 victory over Wuppertaler SV and now the second week of the pre-season brings the next two friendlies. And that will see Bayer 04 playing in red! The Werkself will be playing in the new home shirt for the first time. International players Kai Havertz, Tin Jedvaj, Aleksandar Dragovic and Paulinho could feature having returned to training on Monday following their extended time away due to their international duties.
Anyone wanting to watch the games live at the Academy can secure a ticket for three euros. They are available from the Bayer 04 Shop in Wiesdorf (Wiesdorfer Platz 9) and from the Fan House (Breidenbachstraße 46). Proceeds from the sale of the tickets will be donated to the Leverkusen Fan Project.
Our opponents:
Fortuna Sittard:
Last season's newcomers to the Eredivisie managed to avoid immediate relegation by finishing 15th in the table. Sittard return to the Dutch top flight in 2018 for the first time in 16 years. The top goalscorer last season was the American Andrija Novakovich with nine goals. The club played in Europe in 1984/85 reaching the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners Cup where they lost out to Everton 5-0 on aggregate. In 1998 they took part in the Intertoto Cup losing 4-3 on aggregate to Austria Salzburg in the semi-finals. Last summer Bayer 04 beat the visitors from Sittard 2-0 in a friendly.
KAS Eupen:
Eupen ended last season twelfth in Belgium's Jupiler League. One player from last season is well known at Leverkusen: Julian Schauerte, brought through the youth ranks at Bayer 04, played for KAS last term but is now with third division side Preußen Münster. The 31-year-old defender previously played for Fortuna Düsseldorf and SV Sandhausen. Eupen have a lot of African players in their squad after the Aspire Zone Foundation from Qatar started investing in the club in 2012. Bayer 04 lost 2-1 to Eupen in a friendly at the Haberland Stadium in 2013.
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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