
The Werkself have a good record at the BayArena. Schmidt’s team have not lost any of the last eight European games at home and the hope is the run continues. “We have to show what we can do on the pitch,” said Jonathan Tah at the press conference ahead of matchday three in the group stage – looking back at the weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga.
Spurs will present the Werkself with a tough challenge. Tottenham are the only unbeaten team in England’s top flight and Roger Schmidt travelled to London to watch this week’s opponents secure a convincing 2-0 win at home to league leaders Manchester City. “I saw a great game and a team from London that invested a lot in attack. They are also very solid at the back and they don’t give much away,” said Schmidt.
It remains to be seen whether Lars Bender can recover in time from a bout of flu. “He’s a bit better but not 100 per cent fit. We’ll have to wait and see if he makes it,” said Schmidt. The skipper did take part in the final pre-match training session.
The ticket offices are open today. Category IV (€42, concessions €28) and category II (€60, concessions €44) tickets are available in the Leverkusen section in blocks B1, F6 and F8.


In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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The Germany U19 team were beaten 2-0 by record champions Spain in the final of the U19 European Championship in Wales. Bayer 04 players Montrell Culbreath and Francis Onyeka (on loan at SV 07 Elversberg) were in the starting line-up and played the full 90 minutes.
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