
Lukas Hradecky and Co. secured a convincing win in the first clash the top Scottish side at the end of September: after 90 minutes at the legendary Celtic Park – named Paradise by their fans – the game ended in a 4-0 victory. This heavy defeat clearly had an effect on the Green and Whites with Celtic going unbeaten across three competitions up to today. The team under coach Ange Postecoglou have picked up eight wins and one draw since the first game against the Black and Reds. The captain Callum McGregor and Co. clocked up six points in the last two matches against Ferencvaros (2-0, 3-2).
Following a patchy start in the Scottish league, Celtic are now back in the title race. Ahead of the first game against Bayer 04, the Postecoglou team were sixth in the table and six points behind arch rivals and league leaders Rangers. The Green and Whites have now made up four points on Rangers and moved up four places, Celtic are currently second in Scotland's top flight.
The last league match brought a 4-2 away win at Dundee. Following the international break, there was a 1-0 home win against St. Johnstone in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup.
The statistics ahead of the second game between Celtic and Bayer 04 clearly favour the Werkself: The Scots have lost six of their seven away games in Germany in the Europa League or UEFA Cup (one draw). The last game ended in a 2-0 defeat away to RB Leipzig in October 2018.
The BayArena has also become a real fortress in European home games: The Black and Reds have not lost any of the 14 home games in the group stages of the Europa League (11 wins, three draws). No team in the history of the competition has played at home as often as Bayer 04 without losing a single game.
The Seoane team are currently top of Group G with ten points from four games and Celtic are third on six points. Real Betis are second on seven points and Ferencvaros are bottom with no points.

The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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