
The 36 professional teams from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 are joined by the four best third division sides from last season – this year they are SSV Ulm 1846, Preußen Münster, Jahn Regensburg and Dynamo Dresden. The remaining 24 teams have qualified via their respective state cup competitions.
The Pokal tie against Carl Zeiss Jena will be the third competitive match the 2024/25 season for Bayer 04. The DFL Supercup on 17 August will be followed by the champions of Germany kicking off the new Bundesliga campaign on Friday 23 August. The Black and Reds will then play the first round in the DFB Pokal. We will bring you news on the Bayer 04 media channels as soon as the fixture date is confirmed and details are available on ticket sales for this game.
The second round of the DFB Pokal will be played on 29/30 October, the Round of 16 on 3/4 December. The quarter-finals follow and 4/5 and 25/26 February 2025, the semi-finals are set for 1/2 April 2025. The final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin will be played on 24 May 2025.
FIRST ROUND DRAW IN FULL:
Dynamo Dresden vs Fortuna Düsseldorf
Arminia Bielefeld vs Hannover 96
Jahn Regensburg vs VfL Bochum 1848
SC Preußen Münster vs VfB Stuttgart
Eintracht Braunschweig vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Erzgebirge Aue vs Borussia Mönchengladbach
VfL Sportfreunde Lotte vs Karlsruher SC
Bremer SV vs SC Paderborn 07
SV Meppen vs Hamburg SV
Würzburger Kickers vs TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
FC Phönix Lübeck vs Borussia Dortmund
VfV 06 Hildesheim vs SV 07 Elversberg
FC 08 Villingen vs FC Heidenheim 1846
FC Saarbrücken vs FC Nürnberg
Energie Cottbus vs Werder Bremen
TuS Koblenz 1911 vs VfL Wolfsburg
Rot-Weiss Essen vs RB Leipzig
SV Wehen Wiesbaden vs FSV Mainz 05
FC Ingolstadt 04 vs FC Kaiserslautern
SV Sandhausen vs FC Köln
SSV Ulm 1846 vs FC Bayern Munich
Offenbacher Kickers vs FC Magdeburg
Carl Zeiss Jena vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Alemannia Aachen vs FC Schalke 04
Hansa Rostock vs Hertha Berlin
Hallescher FC vs FC St. Pauli
VfL Osnabrück vs SC Freiburg
Greifswalder FC vs Union Berlin
TSV Schott Mainz vs SpVgg Greuther Fürth
FC Teutonia 05 Ottensen vs SV Darmstadt 98
FC Viktoria 1899 Berlin vs FC Augsburg
VfR Aalen 1921 vs Holstein Kiel

Bayer 04 picked up their first three points in the current Champions League campaign on matchday 4 in the league phase with a courageous and determined display in a 1-0 win at Benfica (1:0). "It was a hugely important win," said coach Kasper Hjulmand after the game, paying tribute to his players for their battling performance right to the end. The Werkself defended resolutely right to the end and kept out off shot after shot. Keeper Mark Flekken said: "We were determined to get these three points and gave everything we had on the pitch!" Read on for more reaction plus the facts and stats on the away win at the Portuguese record champions in the Werkself review.
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The second European away game takes the Werkself to the Portuguese capital Lisbon. Kasper Hjulmand's team will face record champions Benfica on Wednesday, 5 November (kick-off: 20:00 GMT, 21:00 CET) on matchday 4 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League. As usual, we will take you along on the #aCROSSeurope journey and report from Lisbon. The times given are Central European Time.
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Werkself TV shows highlights of the 1-0 win for Bayer 04 at Benfica on matchday 4 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league phase...
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The Werkself beat Benfica 1-0 on Matchday 4 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase to seal three crucial points! Both teams had promising chances in the first half, but the contest was goalless at half-time. Substitute Patrik Schick headed in to score the only goal after the restart (65’). The home side went looking for an equaliser but Bayer 04 defended passionately to see out the storm.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 win against Hamburger SV on the 9th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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