Bayer Leverkusen to face Nottingham Forest in latest pre-season test
Bayer Leverkusen will be hoping to make it six wins from six in pre-season as they travel to face English Nottingham Forest at The City Ground on 12 August (8.45pm CEST).
The game marks the first of two tests against Premier League opposition for Leverkusen, with Die Werkself also set to play against Newcastle United on 15 August (4pm CEST).
Leverkusen have won all of their prior pre-season fixtures so far against a mixture of local and international opposition. They kicked off their preparations with routine victories against SF Baumberg and Kickers Offenbach before impressively dispatching Belgian side Genk 4-0. Carles Martínez's charges then beat 3. Liga side Rot-Weiss Essen 3-0 before getting the better of Spanish outfit Sevilla 2-1 last time out.
Incidentally, this friendly encounter will mark the first ever meeting between these sides.
Watch: Highlights from Leverkusen's 2-1 downing of Sevilla
Forest, meanwhile, have managed warm-up victories over English lower league opposition Notts County and Blackburn Rovers before a trio of fixtures against Portuguese sides Vitória S.C., Portimonense S.C. and Sporting CP. The Reds then faced Udinese and Barcelona, losing both games 1-0.
Leverkusen will travel to England without Robert Andrich and Montrell Culbreath after both picked up injuries against Sevilla. The latter is set to miss the start of the 2026/27 season with a foot injury. Meanwhile, Kennet Eichhorn is still unavailable, and both Nathan Tella and Eliesse Ben Seghir continue to nurse respective muscular and hamstring issues.
Die Werkself's season gets underway on 22 August when they travel to 3. Liga side Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the DFB Cup, before taking on Bundesliga newcomers Elversberg away the following week on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 campaign.
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