Back again! The Black and Reds are back in the Champions League after two seasons in the Europa League. As one of four German clubs – Eintracht Frankfurt can qualify by winning in the final of the Europa League – Bayer 04 compete in the 68th season of the competition that starts with first qualifiers on 21 June and finishes with the final in Istanbul on 10 June 2023.
The Werkself have qualified for the group stages and thereby avoid the play-offs. The three opponents Bayer 04 will face in the group stage will be decided at the draw of the groups on 25 August.
National champions like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain will be in pot 1. Borussia Dortmund are also certain of qualifying after finishing second in the Bundesliga. The Werkself will be in pot 2, 3 or 4. That will de determined according to UEFA’s five-year assessment of the club coefficient in 2021/22.
Champions League games are traditionally played on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. The dates for the group games are as follows:
Matchday 1: 6/7 September 2022
Matchday 2: 13/14 September 2022
Matchday 3: 4/5 October 2022
Matchday 4: 11/12 October 2022
Matchday 5: 25/26 October 2022
Matchday 6: 1/2 November 2022
If Bayer 04 finish first or second in their group, the Werkself will be through to the knockout rounds for the eighth time in the thirteenth campaign in the Champions League.
The Round of 16 will be drawn on 7 November and played between the middle of February and the middle of March next year. The quarter-finals are in the middle of April and the semi-finals in the middle of May. The final at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium is, as previously mentioned, is to be played on 10 June 2023.
Bayer 04 have made the third highest number of appearances in the Champions League (12) for a Bundesliga club behind Bayern Munich (25) and Borussia Dortmund (16). RB Leipzig have been in the Champions League four times and Borussia Mönchengladbach plus VfL Wolfsburg three times each.
The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about anticipation for the game. Werkself player Ibrahim Maza also gave an insight into dealing with the recent setbacks.
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After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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