As with Bochum, Fortuna Köln are familiar opponents for Bayer 04 in friendly matches. The last time the two teams met was in November last year with Leverkusen winning 1-0 at the Haberland Stadium. The goalscorer was Kai Havertz who, five days earlier, had become the youngest ever player to make his debut for the Werkself in the Bundesliga match against Darmstadt 98. Back then, Bayer 04 played Fortuna without 15 internationals and this time it will be nine – plus the two U19 players Sam Schreck and Atakan Akkaynak. The injured Charles Aránguiz (Chile) and Tin Jedvaj (Croatia) are unable to play for their countries this time round.
Head coach Heiko Herrlich will again use the opportunity against Köln to give time on the pitch to players in his squad who have not appeared much recently – such as goalkeeper Rambo Özcan, Stefan Kießling, André Ramalho, Vladlen Yurchenko and Marlon Frey. Fortuna Köln have had an excellent start to their third division campaign and are currently third in the table behind Paderborn and Magdeburg after eleven games. The team coached by Uwe Koschinat have only lost one game and they secured a 3-1 victory in their last match at Großaspach.
Bayer 04 have arranged another friendly for the third international window of the season against MSV Duisburg on 9 November.
Alejo Sarco has left Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join Sporting Gijón in Spain’s second division. Bayer 04 have secured a buy-back clause for the 20-year-old Argentine striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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Bayer 04 preparations for the 2026/27 season are in full swing, with the first friendly now under their belts. Although there are still around seven weeks to go until the first Bundesliga home game in early September, there is already huge anticipation for the start of competitive action for head coach Carles Martínez’s team at the BayArena. For the Bundesliga home matches of the new season, here is the latest information regarding the first phase of single-match ticket sales. The tried-and-tested early-bird phase remains in place. From 23 to 31 July, tickets for matches will go on sale on weekdays; the early-bird phase ends on 5 August at the latest – provided tickets are still available by then.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir for the time being.
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