That was the outcome of today's draw on Sunday 18 June.
Simon Rolfes, sporting managing director, on the draw: “An interesting draw for the first game in the cup and obviously we will be taking our opponents very seriously particularly looking at our early exit last season. We want to do better this season and go as far as we can. So we will be fully motivated and focused in Ottensen. Of course, our target is the second round.”
The 36 teams in the Bundesliga and the second division are joined by the four best teams in the third division last season – SV Elversberg, VfL Osnabrück, SV Wehen Wiesbaden and FC Saarbrücken. In addition, there are 21 state cup winners from the lower leagues and one team for each of the three state associations with the most members, Bavaria, North Rhine Westphalia and the Lower Saxony, in the competition.
The first round ties will be played from 11 to 14 August 2023. The second round is set for 31 October/1 November 2023. The Round of 16 is on 5/6 December. The quarter-finals are planned to be played on 30/31 January 2024 and 6/7 February 2024. The semi-finals will be played on 2/3 April 2024 with the final in Berlin on 25 May 2024.
As soon as dates and details on ticket sales are available we will bring them to you here on bayer 04.de.
DFB Cup Round One:
FC 08 Homburg vs SV Darmstadt 98
Hallescher FC vs SpVgg Greuther Fürth
SV Sandhausen vs Hannover 96
VfL Osnabrück vs FC Köln
SV Atlas Delmenhorst vs FC St. Pauli
FV Illertissen vs Fortuna Düsseldorf
Maccabi Berlin vs VfL Wolfsburg
FC Rot-Weiß Koblenz vs FC Kaiserslautern
SpVgg Unterhaching vs FC Augsburg
Rostocker FC vs FC Heidenheim
SC Preußen Münster vs Bayern Munich
SSV Jahn Regensburg vs FC Magdeburg
Energie Cottbus vs SC Paderborn
FC Oberneuland vs FC Nürnberg
VfB Lübeck vs TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
TSG Balingen vs VfB Stuttgart
TSV Schott Mainz vs Borussia Dortmund
Rot-Weiss Essen vs Hamburg SV
SV 07 Elversberg vs FSV Mainz 05
FC Lokomotive Leipzig vs Eintracht Frankfurt
FC-Astoria Walldorf vs FC Union Berlin
FC Viktoria Köln vs Werder Bremen
FSV Frankfurt vs FC Hansa Rostock
SV Wehen Wiesbaden vs RB Leipzig
FC Teutonia 05 Ottensen vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
FC Carl-Zeiss Jena vs Hertha Berlin
FC Saarbrücken vs Karlsruher SC
FC Gütersloh vs Holstein Kiel
SV Oberachern vs SC Freiburg
TuS Bersenbrück vs Borussia Mönchengladbach
Arminia Bielefeld vs VfL Bochum
Eintracht Braunschweig vs FC Schalke 04
It's finally Champions League time again! Under the motto 'Sound of Dreams', the Werkself's European journey begins on Thursday 18 September (kick-off 18:45 CEST) at FC Copenhagen. The Danes relied on their experience and solid defence in particular to come through qualifying. Nevertheless, their record against German teams is not good, and Bayer 04 also have positive memories of their previous two encounters with FCK. The Matchday News rounds up all the info on the match.
Show moreThe opener in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26: On Thursday, 18 September (kick-off: 18:45 CEST), the Werkself will kick off the new UCL campaign at FC Copenhagen. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about his return to Parken, the Danish record champions' home ground. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken, for his part, was looking forward to his first Champions League game.
Show moreBayer 04's new coach Kasper Hjulmand will kick off the league phase of the UEFA Champions League in his home country: The Danish double winners FC Copenhagen welcome the Werkself to the Parken Stadium on Thursday, 18 September (kick-off: 18:45 CEST/live on DAZN). Hjulmand not only knows the stadium, but also some of the FC Copenhagen players from his time as the Denmark coach. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show moreBayer 04 are away to FC Copenhagen on the first matchday of the league phase in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League. The game against the Danish record champions is on Thursday, 18 September (kick-off: 18:45 CEST) at the Parken Stadium. Ahead of the match, here are some travel tips from Bayer 04 partner weloveholidays for all travelling fans of the Werkself.
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