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.
The Nerazzurri are in town: Today, Tuesday 10 December, Bayer 04 entertain the reigning champions of Italy Inter Milan on Matchday 6 in the UEFA Champions League (kick-off: 21.00 CET/live on DAZN and on Werkself Radio). Read on for the latest information on the home game at the BayArena.
Show moreThe Bayer 04 U19 team lost 1-0 to Inter Milan on the sixth and final matchday in the league phase of the UEFA Youth League 2024/25. The only goal of the game was scored just after the hour mark. While the side from North Italy have finished top in the league phase with a maximum points return, the Leverkusen team appeared to have just missed out on the knockout stages of the European competition. There is faint hope looking to several games to follow where results are needed to go the way of the Werkself.
Show moreItalian teams are known for being strong in defence. The fact that Inter Milan, the next opponents for the Werkself in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, 10 December (kick-off: 20.45 CET), have not conceded a single goal in their last five matches is impressive. Will the visitors' keeper Yann Sommer be able to keep a clean sheet at the BayArena against Florian Wirtz and Co.? The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show moreThe Werkself are away to Borussia Dortmund on Bundesliga Matchday 16. The game at the Signal Iduna Park on Friday, 10 January 2025, kicks off at 20.30 CET. Read on for information on ticket sales.
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