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.
Sandwiched between their UEFA Champions League knockout play-off tie against Olympiacos, Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action on Saturday with a trip to Union Berlin (kick-off: 15:30 CET). It’s a fixture of contrasting styles, with Leverkusen preferring to control the play while Union look to remain compact and counter. The Berliners are therefore suited to facing top teams, but they have only ever managed to win one of 16 meetings with the Werkself, who are looking for a fifth clean sheet of 2026 but will need to beware the home side’s threat from set pieces. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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After six wins in seven games, the Werkself will be looking to continue their winning run in the capital at FC Union Berlin. Coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke ahead of the match on Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET) about defenders, the short preparation time and the condition of the pitch at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
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Union Berlin have performed particularly well against the top clubs in the Bundesliga this season with a draw at home to Bayern Munich and wins against VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig. This Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET), the Irons now welcome the Werkself, currently sixth in the table, to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. And the hosts are in desperate need of a win. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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It took exactly 60 minutes for the Werkself to take the lead through a perfectly finished counter-attack by Patrik Schick in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off at Olympiacos. Referring to the meeting in the league phase and the initially squandered opportunities, coach Kasper Hjulmand said afterwards: "I thought: 'Oh no, déjà-vu.'" But after the opening goal, it took just 144 seconds for the Czech to spark more wild celebrations among those in black and red in the Greek cauldron, when Schick nodded in Alejandro Grimaldo's corner. Much to the delight of the Bayer 04 fans, his teammates and his coach, who had warm words for the striker in the aftermath. The Werkself Review.
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