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.
A disciplined defensive performance in the second leg saw Bayer 04 prevail against Olympiacos in the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. Thanks to the 2-0 away win in the first leg, the goalless draw at home at the BayArena was enough to ensure progress to the next round. The Black and Reds kept their opponents away from their goal for the best part of 90 minutes.
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Bayer 04 can go through to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the ninth time tonight, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET) and be in the top 16 clubs in Europe. A good omen: Leverkusen have progressed to the next round after winning the first leg in 20 of their 22 knockout rounds in European competitions to date. For their part, Greek record champions Olympiacos rested several players for last weekend’s league fixture ahead of the play-off second leg at the BayArena and will now do everything in their power to turn the tide with their usual aggressive and high pressing. The discussions on Werkself radio are likely to be just as intense as the battle on the pitch, with commentator Florian Bechholz welcoming honorary captain Stefan Kießling and goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Today’s matchday news.
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With the advantage of the 2-0 first-leg win in the play-offs, the Werkself are looking to book their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League at the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the home game against Olympiacos on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand and goalkeeper Janis Blaswich spoke about the position ahead of the match, the visitors' strength at set-pieces and a personnel issue for the home side.
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With a win in the Greek Super League last weekend, Olympiacos achieved success on the pitch ahead of the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg at Bayer 04 on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET). Coach José Luis Mendilibar rested many of his regular starters.
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