Peter Bosz welcomed his players back to the training ground on Monday afternoon and he was able to gain first impressions of the fitness of his team. After another intensive session on Tuesday, the performance tests on Thursday and a final training session on Friday, the week will be rounded off with the friendly against the Regional League side. For the Werkself, a number of players, who have not played much recently, plus one or two youth players may get the chance to show what they can do. The head coach is currently missing the international players who were given extended leave due to their time away on international duty. Kai Havertz, Lukas Hradecky, Tin Jedvaj, Julian Baumgartlinger, Aleksandar Dragovic, Jonathan Tah, Charles Aránguiz and Leon Bailey will all rejoin the squad at the training camp (15 to 21 July in Zell am See–Kaprun).
Tickets are still available via the Wuppertaler SV website for this weekend’s friendly at the Stadion am Zoo (Hubertusallee 4, 42117 Wuppertal).
Our opponents:
Last season, Wuppertaler SV finished eleventh in the Regional League West – the fourth tier of German football. The club is 30 kilometres away from Leverkusen as the crow flies and the two sides faced each other last summer with the Werkself running out comfortable winners with a 2-0 victory. The 25 competitive encounters (Oberliga, Regional League, second division) are a good while ago: Between 1962 and 1979 the Werkself won nine of the meetings (seven draws). The biggest success for the Wuppertal side is even further back: WSV were promoted to the Bundesliga in 1972 and a year later competed in the UEFA Cup. The undisputed low point followed in 2013 with the application for bankruptcy and the associated relegation to the fourth division where Wuppertal have been again since the 2016/17 season.
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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