
The friendly against Real Club Celta de Vigo (14.00 CET) is the highlight. Celta Vigo play in the Spanish top flight and they ended last season in thirteenth place under coach Eduardo Berizzo. One familiar face in their squad is Marcelo Díaz, who played for Hamburg SV in the Bundesliga until the last winter break.
Post-match autograph session
Once again, there will be plenty of activities for young and old throughout the stadium. That includes an autograph session with the Bayer 04 stars - that will take place after the match.
Tickets for the season launch will be available from the beginning of July via the usual channels at five euros for adults and three euros for children. Further information will be available at bayer04.de. Bayer 04 season ticket holders can look forward to receiving a personal invitation in the next few days. Every visitor will be entitled to a free drink - the entrance ticket counts as a voucher.
Pre-season timetable
The first team pre-season begins on 3 and 4 July, with extensive performance tests the Werkstatt. A day later, on Wednesday 5 July at 10.00 CET, head coach Heiko Herrlich will hold his first training session at the training ground. That session will be open so fans and visitors can see the squad in action in Leverkusen.
The Werkself play SF Baumberg on 8 July in a 14.30 CET kick-off. The match will staged at the nearby Jahnstadion in Langenfeld (Jahnstraße 4, 40764 Langenfeld). Bayer 04 have another friendly on 19 July against Bonner SC. The fixture in Bonn kicks off at 18.30 CET.
The summer training camp starts on 23 July. As in previous years, the squad will prepare for next season in the best possible conditions in Zell am See/ Kaprun until 31 July.
The first competitive game of the new campaign sees the Werkself take on third division opponents Karlsruhe SC in the DFB Cup. The tie will be played between 11 and 14 August.
The Bundesliga campaign starts a week later on 18 August. The German Football League (DFL) will publish the 2017/18 fixture list on 29 June.


Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
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Three days after the spectacular comeback in the DFB Pokal tie against FC Nürnberg (5–2), the Werkself face their next challenge in the Bundesliga. On Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET), Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart, currently 15th in the table, at the BayArena. Ahead of the match, Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about important factors in preparing for this next game given a tight fixture list.
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Despite VfB Stuttgart performing well in the Champions League, they are facing a difficult spell early on in the Bundesliga. Three days after their last-minute victory in the DFB Pokal at SC Paderborn 07, the Swabians can now take to the pitch at the BayArena with greater confidence on Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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A special afternoon at the Bayer 04 Football Academy autumn camp: At the Liga 20 indoor football centre, in the shadow of the BayArena, two Werkself women’s team players led a training session. Loreen Bender and Selina Ostermeier not only offered the young players advice and support, but also got stuck in themselves.
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