News in brief: Bayer 04 in pot 3 for UCL draw

For the first time since the introduction of the Champions League in 1992 next season will see five German teams in Europe's premier club competition. In addition to the Werkself, champions Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig plus Eintracht Frankfurt as Europa League winners have qualified for the top European tournament.

26 of the 32 teams have already qualified. The remaining six will be decided from the end of June to August in the qualifying matches. The draw for the group stage will follow on 25 August.

FIRST UCL matchday on 6/7 September

The Werkself join Borussia Dortmund in pot 3 based on the UEFA coefficients and are therefore unable to play RB Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Napoli and Sporting Lisbon as they are in the same pot. In contrast, possible opponents include Real Madrid, Manchester City, AC Milan, Paris St Germain, Porto (all in pot 1), Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Tottenham Hotspur (all in pot 2) plus Liverpool and Ajax (both pot 1 or pot 2).

In the group stage, three German clubs will play on Tuesdays and two on Wednesdays. The first matchday is on 6/7 September. The top match on a Tuesday next season will be shown on the Amazon Prime Video streaming platform. All other matches are available via the streaming provider DAZN. Highlights on terrestrial TV will be shown as usual on ZDF – on Wednesdays from 23.15 CEST.

vote for player of the season open till sunday

Which Bayer 04 player particularly stands out this season? Can last year's winner Florian Wirtz retain his title? The top eleven scorers and providers in the Bundesliga include three Werkself players: Leverkusen's top goalscorer Patrik Schick (24 goals, 4 assists), winger Moussa Diaby(13 goals, 12 assists) and youngster Florian Wirtz (7 goals, 11 assists). Robert Andrich or Jeremie Frimpong could also be in the running.

Black and Red fans still have a chance to choose who most deserves the title of Player of the Season 2021/22. The vote is open until Sunday 5 June.

Bayer 04 Club members have the chance to win some great prizes:

Main prize:

• 1x2 VIP tickets for a Werkself home game decided by Bayer 04

Other prizes:

• 1x1 A pair of football boots (Nike, size: 44.5) worn and signed by Julian Baumgartlinger
• 3x1 new home shirt for the 2022/23 season
• 5x1 vouchers over €19.04 for the Bayer 04 shop

Click HERE to vote and for further information

Leverkusen mourns the victims of plane crash

The flags at the Bayer Leverkusen flying club are at half mast. An LEC sports aircraft crashed in Croatia on Sunday 29 May. The pilot was a member of the Leverkusen club and he was killed in the accident as were three passengers. Bayer 04 mourns the victims and our thoughts are with their families and friends.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Chicha!

Former Werkself player Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez is 34 today. Bayer 04 congratulate him and happily remember his time under the Bayer Cross. The Mexican record goalscorer played for Bayer 04 from 2015 to 2017 and he conquered the hearts of the Black and Red fans up front. Chicharito scored 28 times in 54 games. After his time at Leverkusen, Chicha joined West Ham United in the Premier League. The crowd favourite has played for Los Angeles Galaxy since 2020. There he scored 26 goals in 49 games.

You can again watch one of his many impressive feats HERE. Happy Birthday.