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.
The German Football Association (DFB) has officially recognised Bayer 04 as a centre for the development of female talent for the 2026/27 season. The club was awarded that role on 1 January 2026, and this status has now been renewed.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have sold young defender Andrea Natali to AZ Alkmaar on permanent terms. The 18-year-old Italian was on loan at the Dutch club last season, where he mainly played for the reserve team in the second division.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned new signing Luca Erlein to newly promoted FC Energie Cottbus for the 2026/27 season. This will give him the opportunity to play in Bundesliga 2. The club signed the 19-year-old right-back on a permanent basis last week, on a contract to 30 June 2030.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 3-1 victory in the friendly match at Kickers Offenbach...
Show more
It’s always nice having your best friends round for a birthday! Bayer 04 made a guest appearance at Stadion am Bieberer Berg as part of Offenbacher Kickers’ 125th anniversary celebrations, and nearly 1,500 Werkself supporters accepted the invitation to this historic venue, joining the Offenbach crowd in celebrating the more than 45-year friendship between the clubs. On the pitch, the Werkself secured a 3–1 victory in the friendly against the fourth-tier Regionalliga side. The Leverkusen goals were scored by Christian Kofane (38’), Jonas Hofmann (48’) and Afonso Moreira (81’). Keanu Staude had put the hosts ahead in the first half (11’).
Show more
