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:
Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
Show more
Three days after the spectacular comeback in the DFB Pokal tie against FC Nürnberg (5–2), the Werkself face their next challenge in the Bundesliga. On Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET), Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart, currently 15th in the table, at the BayArena. Ahead of the match, Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about important factors in preparing for this next game given a tight fixture list.
Show more
Despite VfB Stuttgart performing well in the Champions League, they are facing a difficult spell early on in the Bundesliga. Three days after their last-minute victory in the DFB Pokal at SC Paderborn 07, the Swabians can now take to the pitch at the BayArena with greater confidence on Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
A special afternoon at the Bayer 04 Football Academy autumn camp: At the Liga 20 indoor football centre, in the shadow of the BayArena, two Werkself women’s team players led a training session. Loreen Bender and Selina Ostermeier not only offered the young players advice and support, but also got stuck in themselves.
Show more
