
Bayer 04 have been in drawn an interesting group and the club has not faced any of the three opponents before.
Sporting managing director Rudi Völler: "This draw shows the appeal of the Europa League. I think our group is brilliant and there are great names in it. Our fans can look forward to that and hopefully enjoy a lot of success with us." And sporting director Simon Rolfes is also full of anticipation for the group stage to be played between September and December: "It's a really attractive group with strong teams. We look forward to the matches against such big clubs."
Celtic finished runners-up in the Scottish Premiership last season. After going out of the Champions League in the qualifying rounds, the team under Ange Postecoglou went through the Europa League qualifiers against FK Jablonec and AZ Alkmaar.
Real Betis qualified for the UEL by finishing sixth in La Liga. Ferencváros, this year coached by the former Bundesliga manager Peter Stöger, finished champions in the Hungarian top-flight last term. The team led by the 55-year-old are also in the Europa League after going out in the Champions League qualifiers.
"The opponents will pose a great challenge on the pitch and also be extremely attractive for our fans. It's a European cup and that's what you want from this competition. Our aim is to go through from this exciting group," said Bayer 04 head coach Gerardo Seoane.
Fixtures kick off at 18.45 or 21.00 Central European Time. Match details will be announced by Saturday morning.

A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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So here we go again: Four weeks after the 2-0 home win in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League, Olympiacos host the Werkself at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis this Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET - live on Werkself Radio) for the second encounter in a short space of time. It's the first leg of the knockout play-offs, and it's likely to be another high-intensity clash in a fiery atmosphere.
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The Werkself impressed in the 4-0 home win over FC St. Pauli with a performance that pleased head coach Kasper Hjulmand that had previously being missing and which he now wants to "use as a boost". Defenders Jarell Quansah and Edmond Tapsoba in particular once again stood firm at the back and scored at the other end - the latter now has the most goal involvements by a centre-back in the top five leagues. However, the Bayer 04 players are already looking forward to the forthcoming fixtures with a hunger for success and optimism. The Werkself review of the game on Carnival Saturday.
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