The Green and Whites have contested five pre-season friendlies so far, beating Austria Salzburg 5-1 and Saudi-Arabian club Al-Ittihad with ex-Werkself pro Moussa Diaby 4-1. They lost against Premier League clubs Liverpool (1-0) and Manchester United (3-2) in the context of a tour to the USA and were held to a goalless draw by Spanish second-tier side Cadiz last Wednesday.
Real Betis finished in seventh place in the last La Liga campaign to qualify for the UEFA Conference League. They lost the decisive match for sixth place at home to Real Sociedad San Sebastian 2-0 on the second-to-last matchday. The storied club have established themselves among Spain’s top seven teams since coach Luis Pellegrini took over in August 2020.
Betis enjoyed their most successful season under the Chilean in 2021/22, when they finished fifth. They beat Valencia in the Spanish Cup final that season to win the Copa del Rey for the third time in their history and encountered Bayer 04 for the first time. The Europa League group match in Sevilla ended in a 1-1 draw before the Werkself won 4-0 thanks to goals by Diaby (2), Florian Wirtz and Nadiem Amiri in Leverkusen. Real Betis, whose most prominent honorary members are Spanish King Felipe and his father Juan Carlos, finished in second place behind Bayer 04 and were eliminated by Eintracht Frankfurt, who went on to win the competition, in the last sixteen (2-1, 1-1 AET).
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. Pellegrini coached West Ham United before joining Real Betis.
Needless to say, there have been a number of changes in Sevilla’s personnel since their first encounter with the Werkself. Goalkeeping legend Claudio Bravo, who has made 150 appearances for Chile, left the club this summer. The 41-year-old had played in seven league matches in Betis colours last season. Portuguese netminder Rui Silva is Sevilla’s number one now.
Betis signed 31-year-old defender Ricardo Rodriguez just a few days ago. Rodriguez, who is Granit Xhaka’s Switzerland teammate, joined from FC Turin and is known in the Bundesliga from his time at VfL Wolfsburg (2012-2017). Two further experienced new signings are expected to strengthen Betis’ defence: 30-year-old centre-back Diego Llorente joined from Leeds United after a two-year loan spell at AS Roma. 26-year-old left-back Romain Perraud joined from Southampton. In addition, Real Betis have signed Marc Roca, who played for them on loan last season. The 27-year-old had played for FC Bayern from 2020 to 2022 before joining Leeds United.
Forward Borja Iglesias, who played for Bayer 04 on loan in the first half of 2024, has left Sevilla to join fellow La Liga side Celta Vigo on loan. Willian José, who was Betis’ most prolific striker on ten goals last season, joined Spartak Moscow this summer. Besides, two seasoned defenders have left Sevilla. 33-year-old Argentinian Germán Pezzella returned to his home country to join River Plate. Former Dortmund pro Sokratis (36) hung up his boots this summer. Club legend Joaquin had finished his active career at the age of 41 in the summer of 2023. The former forward boasts 622 La Liga appearances, a joint record along with goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta.
Captain Nabil Fekir and former Real Madrid player Isco are among Betis’ leaders. The latter will miss the match at the BayArena with a fibula fracture.
Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
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Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action this weekend. Following their elimination in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are away to FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 27. Ahead of the clash in the eastern Swabian Alps, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the fixture and the chances of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
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A quick look at the table shows the situation at FC Heidenheim is serious. The Bundesliga bottom club are already ten points behind the play-off spot with their backs to the wall in sporting terms. With eight games left to play, avoiding relegation appears to be a mission impossible. Nevertheless, they are far from flying the white flag at the Schlossberg ahead of the clash with the Werkself this Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.
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