One thing is certain and that is the note with Bayer 04 Leverkusen written on it will be in pot three – together with seven other clubs. There are four pots in total containing all the 32 participants. Pot 1 contains the holders, the Europa League winners plus the champions from the six leagues with the highest coefficients. Pots 2 to 4 are determined according to the club coefficient rankings (based on the clubs' European results from the past five years).
Pot 1
Liverpool (holders, England), Chelsea (Europa League winners, England), Barcelona (Spain), Manchester City (England), Juventus (Italy), Bayern Munich (Germany), Paris St. Germain (France), Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia).
Pot 2
Real Madrid (Spain), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Napoli (Italy), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Tottenham Hotspur (England), Benfica (Portugal), Ajax (Netherlands).
Pot 3
Olympique Lyon (France), Bayer 04, FC Salzburg (Austria), Valencia (Spain), Inter Milan (Italy), Olympiakos (Greece), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), Club Brugge (Belgium).
Pot 4
Galatasaray (Turkey), RB Leipzig (Germany), Atalanta (Italy), OSC Lille (France), KRC Genk (Belgium), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Lokomotive Moscow (Russia), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic).
There are eight groups of four comprising one team from each of the four pots. The teams in Pot 1 automatically head the groups. No team can play another club from the same Association. Beyond that, the UEFA executive committee has decided there will be no games between clubs from Russia and Ukraine during the group stages.
If an association has several representatives then the relevant clubs are allocated in pairs for the fixtures to be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For example, if a club in such a pair is drawn in Groups A, B, C or D then the other club from this pair will be automatically allocated to Group E, F, G or H as soon as they are drawn. The draw also applies to the UEFA Youth League that involves the Bayer 04 U19s.
The draw will be streamed live by UEFA and broadcast from 17.30 CET on Sky Sport News HD.
The group stage begins on 17th/18th September and ends on 10/11 December. A few days later, on 16 December, the draw will be held for the Round of 16 to be played between 18 February and 18 March 2020. The final on 30 May 2020 will be played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
Matchday 1: 17/18 September
Matchday 2: 1/2 October
Matchday 3: 22/23 October
Matchday 4: 5/6 November
Matchday 5: 26/27 November
Matchday 6: 10/11 December
The starting date for the sale of tickets for individual matches is not yet set. Anyone who definitely wants to be at the Werkself home games in the group stage can already secure a package for all three fixtures at the BayArena. And at a special price giving 10% discount on the cost of individual match tickets. The package will be available after the draw as well. Season card holders with the BundesligaPLUS option will have the matches automatically loaded to the season cards at a discount rate of 20%. Further ticket information to follow.
Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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New Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez has arrived in Leverkusen! At midday on Friday, the 42-year-old spoke in a press conference at the BayArena about his philosophy and his aims. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes also discussed the reasons for appointing the former Toulouse boss.
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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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