Bayer Leverkusen vs Celje - prediction, team news, lineups

By Anthony Nolan | 14 Sep 2026 23:59, Last updated: 14 Sep 2026 23:59

Kicking off their Europa League campaign, the Bundesliga's Bayer Leverkusen will welcome managerless Slovenian champions Celje to BayArena on Wednesday for their first league-phase fixture.

Die Werkself are looking for their third win of the season this week, while the Counts are desperate to avoid a thrashing after a difficult month.

Carles Martinez Novell's Leverkusen have made a commendable start to 2026-27, and will be hoping to extend that into continental competition.

Die Werkself hammered Wehen Wiesbaden 4-0 in the DFB-Pokal on August 22, setting the tone for an ongoing four-match run in which they have scored at least twice in every game.

Martinez Novell's side were able to repeat the trick in the Bundesliga, when they battered Union Berlin 4-0 on September 5, courtesy of goals from four different players.

That victory served to show the variety of attacking options available to Leverkusen, though they were held to a 2-2 draw by Augsburg last time out, surrendering an early lead and requiring a 89th-minute equaliser from Patrick Schick to salvage a point.

Hoping to see their team get back to winning ways on Wednesday, the Werkself faithful at BayArena will be buoyed by the hosts' impressive record at the ground, which features just two defeats on home turf since January.

Meanwhile, Celje are in disarray after former manager Vitor Campelos left the club on Monday, making a tough trip to Germany that much more challenging.

The Counts' hierarchy held a meeting with the Portuguese coach at the start of the week, and it has been reported that the two sides decided to part ways after major disagreements were brought to light.

Fans of the visitors - who were already the underdogs on paper - will be looking for reasons to be optimistic ahead of Wednesday's showdown, but the reality is that they are in dire form.

Celje were downed 2-1 by Bravo on Saturday, a frustrating defeat that means the club have lost four of their last five outings across all competitions.

The Slovenian champions have been marginally better on the road in recent weeks, but they have won just twice away from home since May.

Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):

Leverkusen are without a number of players in central areas, including 17-year-old defensive midfielder Kennet Eichhorn, who continues to deal with a mitochondrial disorder, as well as the more attack-minded Nathan Tella, who is recovering from a back injury.

Eliesse Ben Seghir is also a doubt with a thigh issue, so expect to see Equi Fernandez and Aleix Garcia start behind Ibrahim Maza in the middle third.

Die Werkself right wing-back Montrell Culbreath is working his way back to full fitness following a foot injury, but Jarell Quansah will be ready to operate on the right of a four-man defence alongside Facundo Medina, Edmond Tapsoba and Miguel Gutierrez.

As for Celje, they are missing suspended midfielder Andrej Kotnik, though Papa Daniel and Mark Zavukovnik should be on hand to start in a double pivot, with Svit Seslar in the number 10 role.

Elsewhere, Darko Hrka and Artemijus Tutyskinas look set to line up at the heart of the visitors' defence, flanked by full-backs Pijus Sirvys and Milot Avdyli.

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Flekken; Quansah, Medina, Tapsoba, Gutierrez; Fernandez, Garcia; Diaby, Maza, Moreira; Schick

Leban; Sirvys, Hrka, Tutyskinas, Avdyli; Daniel, Zabukovnik; Dukuly, Seslar, Kvesic; Kucys

Leverkusen are the favourites on paper, and their dominance should come through against the managerless visitors on Wednesday.

Die Werkself have been in fine form going forward this season, and it would not be surprising to see Celje concede at least three in midweek.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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