
The Werkself also have two friendlies to play before then. The first has already been arranged: At the end of the first week of training, the Leverkusen pros – as in last year’s pre-season – are again away to Regional League Wuppertaler SV. Other friendlies plus all kick-off times and venues will be announced as soon as they are known here at bayer04.de and also on our social media platforms.
1 July: Performance tests (morning), training restart (afternoon)
6 July: Friendly at Wuppertaler SV, kick-off: 17.00 CET
13 July: Friendly
15 to 21 July: Training camp in Zell am See/Kaprun
20 July: Friendly
28 July: Friendly
4 August: Friendly as part of season launch event at the BayArena
9 to 11 August: DFB Cup, Round One (Draw on 15 June)
16 to 18 August: Bundesliga kick-off
17/18 September: Champions League, Matchday 1 (Group stage)

After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
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After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
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