The Werkself are set to play Celta Vigo who finished eighth in La Liga last term. The clash with the team from the Spanish Atlantic coast will be played at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Saturday, 31 July with the kick-off at 16.00 CEST. The meeting with the Spaniards is the final friendly for Bayer 04 ahead of the opening match of the season, the DFB Cup first round tie away to Lokomotive Leipzig at the beginning of August. Before that there are games against SV Wehen Wiesbaden (14 July) and FC Utrecht (28 July).
Bayer 04 and Celta Vigo played each other in a friendly in August 2017. Back then the clash was the highlight of the season launch event at the BayArena with the game ending in a 3-3 draw with three goals for the Black and Reds in nine minutes (Mehmedi, Pohjanpalo, Volland).
During the training camp in Salzburger Land, the Werkself will play SC Freiburg on departure day (23 July). The Bundesliga clash at the Gernot Langes Stadium, home to WSG Wattens, kicks off at 14.00 CEST. The team and staff will fly back to Germany from Innsbruck after the game.
Celta Vigo profile:
After four years in the bottom half of the table, the club from north-west Spain had a good season last term. After the Argentinian Eduardo Coudet took over as head coach from Oscar Garcia in November of last year, the Galicians only just missed out on qualifying for the newly founded Europa Conference League. Vigo finished up a solid eighth in the table with 53 points to achieve their best finish since 2016.
A strike duo have played a big part in that: Stalwart Iago Aspas scored 14 goals in La Liga and Santi Mina netted 12. Familiar faces from the Bundesliga are striker Emre Mor (formerly Borussia Dortmund) and left back Aaron Martin who returned to Mainz 05, for the time being, at the beginning of July after his six-month loan spell in Spain.
14 July
Bayer 04 vs SV Wehen Wiesbaden, Kurtekotten or Ulrich Haberland Stadium (kick-off: 17.00 CEST)
16-23 July
Training camp in Zell am See/Kaprun
23 July
Bayer 04 vs SC Freiburg, Gernot Langes Stadium in Wattens (kick-off: 14.00 CEST)
28 July
Bayer 04 vs FC Utrecht, Ulrich Haberland Stadium (kick-off: 16.00 CEST)
31 July
Bayer 04 vs Celta Vigo, Ulrich Haberland Stadium (kick-off: 16.00 CEST)
6-9 August
DFB Cup First Round: FC Lokomotive Leipzig vs Bayer 04
14 August
Bundesliga, matchday one: FC Union Berlin vs Bayer 04, An der Alten Försterei stadium (kick-off: 15.30 CEST)
27 August
Europa League group stage draw
16 September
Matchday one in the Europa League
A special afternoon at the Bayer 04 Football Academy autumn camp: At the Liga 20 indoor football centre, in the shadow of the BayArena, two Werkself women’s team players led a training session. Loreen Bender and Selina Ostermeier not only offered the young players advice and support, but also got stuck in themselves.
Show more
The Werkself have reached at least the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal in each of the last three years. The Black-and-Reds would like to make it to the final four of the competition again this season, but to do that they'll need to overcome 1. FC Nürnberg in round two, who travel to the BayArena with momentum following a successful league campaign so far. However, Bayer have a 100 percent record at home in all competitions this season - and have also won six of their last seven home matches in the Pokal. The Matchday News.
Show more
Back at home in the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal, Bayer 04 host FC Nürnberg at the BayArena. The match against the current second-placed side in Bundesliga 2 is on Wednesday 28 October at 20:45 CET. Ahead of the game, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about his anticipation of the clash in front of a home crowd. The Spaniard also commented on a number of personnel matters, including Ibrahim Maza and Montrell Culbreath, plus the visitors’ coach, Miroslav Klose.
Show more
Now in their third season under head coach Miroslav Klose, FC Nürnberg are among the promotion contenders in Bundesliga 2. On Wednesday 28 October (kick-off: 20:45 CET), the team currently second in the table are away to Bayer 04 in the second round of the DFB Pokal. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Werkself player Ibrahim Maza has been named in the top ten in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category for 2026. The 20-year-old was at the London Palladium on Monday evening for the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony. Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, also attended the ceremony. Lamine Yamal of Barcelona was named the winner in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category.
Show more
