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
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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