From this season, 36 instead of 32 clubs will start the Champions League. The previous group phase is replaced by a league phase made up of all 36 participating clubs. Each team plays eight different opponents in the league phase. Only one home or one away game will be played against each opponent. The opponents will be determined as part of the draw of the league phase on Thursday night.
The results of the eight matchdays in the league phase will produce an overall table. The top eight teams from that table go straight through to the Round of 16. The other eight places for the Round of 16 will be determined by a play-off round with home and away legs. That will involve the teams from places 9 to 16 against the teams from places 17 to 24. Teams in places 25 to 26 in the overall table will go out of the Champions League and European competition as there will no longer be the transfer to the Europa League as in previous seasons.
The eight clubs who progress from the play-off round will complete the Round of 16 line-up. The draw will decide who the top eight teams in the final table play. The Round of 16 ties will be played in home and away legs with the best eight teams at home in the second leg. The Champions League will return to the current format from the Round of 16.
The draw for the league phase sees the 36 participating clubs allocated to four pots according to UEFA club coefficients. Bayer 04 are in pot two. The Werkself, like every other club, will play two teams from all four pots.
Each club will be drawn manually once with computer software determining the eight opponents and whether the matches are at home or away. Matches between two clubs from the same country are not possible in the league phase.
The dates for the league phase fixtures will not be released on the same day as the draw but instead will be announced by UEFA on Saturday, 31 August.
Pot 1:
Real Madrid
Manchester City
Bayern Munich (not possible)
Paris Saint-Germain
Liverpool
Inter Milan
Borussia Dortmund (not possible)
RB Leipzig (not possible)
Barcelona
Pot 3:
Feyenoord
Sporting CP
PSV Eindhoven
Dinamo Zagreb
FC Salzburg
Lille OSC
Red Star Belgrade
Young Boys
Celtic
Pot 2:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Atletico Madrid
Atalanta
Juventus
Benfica
Arsenal
FC Brugge
Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan
Pot 4:
Slovan Bratislava
AS Monaco
Sparta Prague
Aston Villa
Bologna
Girona
VfB Stuttgart (not possible)
SK Sturm Graz
Stade Brestois
Bayer 04 automatically go into the UEFA Youth League due to the qualification of the first team for the Champions League. The six matchdays in the European U19 competition will be played on the same matchdays as the Champions League games. The only difference is the Youth League will not be played on matchdays seven and eight of the Champions League in the New Year. The youth competition will only be played on the first six matchdays. Following the league phase, this Champions League route and the so-called champions route, involving all European league champions, will be brought together for the knockout phase. From there, the opponents in the Youth League will be drawn and no longer linked to the Champions League draw as in the league phase.
It took exactly 60 minutes for the Werkself to take the lead through a perfectly finished counter-attack by Patrik Schick in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off at Olympiacos. Referring to the meeting in the league phase and the initially squandered opportunities, coach Kasper Hjulmand said afterwards: "I thought: 'Oh no, déjà-vu.'" But after the opening goal, it took just 144 seconds for the Czech to spark more wild celebrations among those in black and red in the Greek cauldron, when Schick nodded in Alejandro Grimaldo's corner. Much to the delight of the Bayer 04 fans, his teammates and his coach, who had warm words for the striker in the aftermath. The Werkself Review.
Show more
Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
Show more
The Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.
Show more
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
Show more
