
The match at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre kicks off at 14.00 CET behind closed doors. Werder Bremen are currently ninth in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga on nine points. The league meeting in the middle of October in Leverkusen ended in a 3-0 win for the Werkself Women.
The friendly rounds off an intensive week of training. The original plan was to hold a training camp on Gran Canaria but that was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic and the tightening of lockdown regulations. Instead, head coach Achim Feifel will prepare his players for the remaining ten league games with intensive and additional sessions at the Performance Centre and he will try and create a training camp atmosphere at Kurtekotten. Running drills and stamina training will be on the agenda in addition to the usual sessions. There are also two team activities planned to strengthen team spirit – as an online meeting to conform with the coronavirus regulations.
The winter timetable:
18-24 January: Intensive training in place of training camp
Sunday 24 January, 14.00 CET: Bayer 04 vs Werder Bremen, friendly
Sunday 7 February, 14.00 CET: TSG Hoffenheim vs Bayer 04, matchday 19 *
Sunday 14 February, 14.00 CET: MSV Duisburg vs Bayer 04, matchday 13
* As the last matchday in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga would have been in the FIFA registration period, the fixture list has been amended. That means matchday 19 comes before matchday 13.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Carles Martínez Novell. Bayer 04 have appointed the 42-year-old Spaniard as the new head coach on a contract to 2028. Martínez most recently worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. He previously spent four years at Barcelona's legendary academy La Masia in his home city. Bayer04.de introduces Martínez in more detail.
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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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