Werkself face Celta Vigo at season launch event

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.