The Werkself will play Hapoel Beer Sheva and Nice for the first time. The only previous meeting with Slavia Prague was in 1992/93 in the group stage of the Intertoto Cup – Bayer 04 won the first leg 3-1 and the second leg ended in a 0-0 draw.
Simon Rolfes: "With Slavia Prague and Nice we’re up against two established European clubs. Opponents we have to take seriously – Slavia are the Czech champions, Nice are a top team from the country of the World Cup winners. On top of that, there's the cup winners from Israel whose qualification for the group stage is perhaps a bit of a surprise. It's clear we have the ambition to go through."
Matchday 1: 22 October 2020
Matchday 2: 29 October 2020
Matchday 3: 5 November 2020
Matchday 4: 26 November 2020
Matchday 5: 3 December 2020
Matchday 6: 10 December 2020
The UEFA Executive Committee decided on Thursday, 1 October to allow a limited number of spectators to attend Europa League matches. At the same time, UEFA referred to the national and regional regulations on staging games during the coronavirus pandemic. Against that background, Bayer 04 are assuming that the capacity of 20 per cent for Bundesliga games will apply to the first home game in October; obviously under the hygiene and organisational concept applied to the Leipzig fixture and the seven-day infection rate in Leverkusen being below 35. The procedure for allocating match tickets will be the same: A ballot will be held amongst season ticket holders with the BundesligaPlus model who have taken out the ‘Draw’ option.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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Following the summer break of around two months, the Bayer 04 first team squad took to the training pitches at the BayArena for the first time on Tuesday – and the players were in high spirits. Alongside the newly formed coaching team led by head coach Carles Martínez, new signing Afonso Moreira also completed his first session with the squad. In front of several hundred Bayer 04 fans at the open session, numerous Werkself players worked up a good sweat. The Leverkusen players who took part in the World Cup will join pre-season training at a later date.
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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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