The clubs faced off in two competitive matches in the 2021/22 Europa League group stage. The first match in Spain ended in a 1-1 draw before the Werkself won 4-0 thanks to goals by Moussa Diaby (2), Florian Wirtz and Nadiem Amiri in Leverkusen.
Coach Manuel Pellegrini was already in the Real Betis dugout by then. Sevilla is the 13th position in Pellegrini’s career as a coach. The 70-year-old coached Spanish sides Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga from 2004 to 2013. He was in charge of Manchester City from 2013 to 2016, winning the Premier League in 2014 and the League Cup in 2014 and 2016. The Chilean coached West Ham United before joining Real Betis.
Today’s match is the Andalusians’ last pre-season friendly. They previously beat Austria Salzburg 5-1 and Saudi-Arabian club Al-Ittihad with ex-Werkself pro Moussa Diaby 4-1. They lost to Premier League clubs Liverpool (1-0) and Manchester United (3-2) while on a tour to the USA and were held to a goalless draw by Spanish second-tier side Cadiz last Wednesday. Further information on Real Betis can be found in the profile of our next opponents.
The city administration of Leverkusen asks all visitors to travel by public transport, bike or foot. There will be road closures four hours before kick-off on Saturday. The city administration of Leverkusen has summarised all the traffic info (in German) ahead of the season launch HERE.
The spectators can look forward to a number of highlights. The Leverkusen U19s encounter Alemannia Aachen in a league match at 13:00 CEST. There will be hands-on activities for visitors big and small in and around the BayArena.
Bayer 04 members who have reserved a time slot can have pictures taken with the two trophies won in 2023/24 for the first time. Another highlight awaits the spectators after full time. All the info on the programme can be found HERE.
Anyone wanting to read key facts about the match before the game should take a look at the new Werkself Live. The matchday magazine is available at the BayArena and the digital version is also available free of charge online (in German). Click here for the ePaper!
The friendly will be streamed live in the Bayer 04 app as well as on the Bayer 04 YouTube channel and Werkself-TV. ServusTV and DF1 are also broadcasting the game live in Germany. In addition, the Bayer 04 live ticker (German language only) will keep you up to date so you don't miss any of the action. Werkself-Radio will not be broadcasting.
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Rieden reloaded: Just like last year, the Bayer 04 Women’s team are spending their summer training camp in this idyllic corner of Bavaria. From this Sunday, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team will be based in Rieden in the Upper Palatinate for a week.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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