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.
Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
Show more
Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
Show more
After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
Show more
SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
