A first in the Champions League: Together with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig plus Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt there are five German clubs in the Champions League for the first time. Bayer 04 are in Pot 3.
In addition, for the first time in 25 years UEFA are again allowing the sale of standing tickets for the matches in their international club competitions of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League as part of a pilot project in Germany, England and France.
As usual, 32 clubs will start the Champions League campaign in 2022/23 with eight groups of four teams. The make up of the groups is determined by all the teams being placed in four draw pots. Pot 1 has holders Real Madrid, the winners of the UEFA Europa league Eintracht Frankfurt and the champions from the sixth highest rated leagues who have not qualified by winning one of the titles in 2021/22. This year that is Manchester City, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto and Ajax.
Pots 2 to 4 are determined by the club coefficient rankings. Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Sevilla and RB Leipzig are in Pot 2. Alongside Bayer 04 in Pot 3 are Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Napoli, FC Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sporting CP and Benfica. The clubs in Pot 4 are Club Brugge, Celtic, Marseille, Dinamo Zagreb, Rangers, FC Copenhagen,Viktoria Plzeň and Maccabi Haifa.
The draw for the group stage of the Champions League campaign of 2022/23 is being held today, Thursday 25 August, in Istanbul from 18.00 CEST. There will be live and free coverage to see which clubs the Werkself will face on TV at Sky Sports News as well as on the broadcaster's website.
The composition of the groups of four is drawn with one club from each pot. The Seoane team can look forward to playing one of the big teams in Europe through being placed in Pot 3. It is worth remembering that no team in the group stage can play another club from the same country. That means the Werkself will not play any of the other clubs from Germany's top flight in the group stage.
Champions League timetable:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Portugal U21 international Afonso Moreira. The 21-year-old winger joins the club from French top-flight side Olympique Lyon on a contract to 30 June 2031. In France last year, the left-winger made 37 appearances in Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the UEFA Europa League, scoring a total of eight goals and providing eleven assists.
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A warm welcome to Leverkusen, Afonso Moreira! Bayer 04 have signed the 21-year-old Portuguese player from the top-flight French club Lyon. The left-winger has signed a contract at Leverkusen to 30 June 2031. Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the new signing.
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A new signing for the U19s: Bayer 04 have signed winger Clinton Wilson from Schalke 04. The 18-year-old previously played for Leverkusen youth teams from January to June 2024.
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After eight years, Ida Daedelow is set to leave Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The 18-year-old, whose original contract was due to run to 2027, is joining second-division side VfL Bochum.
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