After a break of three years, the Champions League anthem will soon ring out again across the BayArena. For the twelfth time in total – and for the sixth time in the past eight years. The Werkself will have to be patient for another couple of months before it all kicks off – and also until the draw of the group stages to be held in Monaco on 29 August. The first matchday is set for 17 and 18 September.
As in previous years, a total of 32 teams will take part in the group stage of Europe's premier club competition (with eight groups of four). The direct qualifiers are the Champions League winners plus the winners of the Europa League, the best four teams in Germany, England, Italy and Spain, the best two teams from France and Russia plus the national champions from Portugal, Ukraine, Belgium and Turkey. As the two finalists in this season's Champions League – Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool – are qualified for the group stage through a top four finish in the Premier League, the automatic qualification place for the winners of the final goes to the eleventh-placed national association (Austria) – that means the champions FC Salzburg in this case. Talking about Salzburg. Like the Austrians and Valencia, Bayer 04 will be in Pot three for the draw.
The ultimate line-up for next season's Champions League is not yet finalised. To this point, the following 23 clubs have qualified (as at 21 May 2019): Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Bayer 04 (all Germany), Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur (all England), Juventus, Napoli (both Italy), Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Valencia (all Spain), Paris St Germain, Lille (both France), Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia), Benfica (Portugal), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), KRC Genk (Belgium), Galatasaray (Turkey) plus FC Salzburg (Austria).
In Italy, Bergamo, Inter Milan and AC Milan are fighting for the remaining two places in Italy from the final match day. In Russia the last direct qualification spot is between FK Krasnodar and Locomotive Moscow. If Arsenal win the Europa League then the London team would be the fifth English side in the Champions League. The remaining places will be decided in the qualifying rounds from the end of June.
The final will be played on 30 May 2020 – for the second time since 2005 – at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in the Turkish capital Istanbul (75,145 capacity).
Bayer 04 supporters can already secure tickets for Champions League home games. With a Bundesliga Plus season card. This option secures a seat for all Bayer 04 competitive games at the BayArena in the 2019/20 season, for the Bundesliga fixtures and additional games in the DFB Cup and the Champions League.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has gained a new partner in digital gaming platform Crown Coins, which joins the Bundesliga runners-up's Sponsors Club with immediate effect. The one-and-a-half-year contract runs until 30 June 2027.
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The Werkself host VfB Stuttgart this evening (10 January, 18:30 CET), a side whose recent Bundesliga form has been indifferent but who have regularly produced top performances in the DFB Pokal and UEFA Europa League, and who have a key player back in the squad in striker Ermedin Demirovic. Off the pitch, the BayArena faithful will be able to see the remaining stoppage time live on the video screens. The Matchday News.
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The Werkself face a tough challenge in the first game of 2026 when VfB Stuttgart visit the BayArena on Saturday, 10 January (kick-off: 18:30 CET). Ahead of the top-of-the-table clash, Kasper Hjulmand spoke about his impressions of training this week, anticipation of the start of the new calendar year and the personnel situation.
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