The Italians, who lost to the Werkself in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League in August 2015 (1-0 and 0-3), finished fifth in Serie A last season to qualify for the Europa League. The team is coached by Simone Inzaghi who has recently agreed a contract extension to 2020. Stars in the line-up of the two-time Italian champions and six-time winners of the Italian Cup include the Brazilian Felipe Anderson and strikers Immobile and Keita.
Remaining Werkself pre-season friendlies:
27 July, 18.30 CET, Zell am See:
Bayer 04 v Antalyaspor
30 July, 15.30 CET, Grödig:
Bayer 04 v Lazio
5 August, 14 .00 CET, BayArena:
Bayer 04 v Celta Vigo
The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
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Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
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