
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.


Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 put in a brilliant performance to beat RB Leipzig 4-1 on Bundesliga matchday 32 and are now fourth in a Champions League spot. The Black and Reds took control of the game right from the start and, with 75 per cent possession at one stage, took a 2-0 lead into the break through Patrik Schick (25’) and Nathan Tella (45+1’). The visitors initially tried to do more after the break, but the Werkself remained determined and Schick scored his second goal to increase the lead to 3-0 (76'). The Red Bulls pulled a goal back through Christoph Baumgartner (80'), but the disciplined Leverkusen side were not rattled - and certainly not Schick: The Czechia international crowned a brilliant display with his third goal shortly before the final whistle to make the final score 4-1.
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In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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