The Werkself are one of 48 teams qualified for the 48th season of this European club competition. Bayer 04 qualified by finishing fifth in the Bundesliga last season thus avoiding the play-offs that 31 clubs have been involved in over recent weeks – the final qualifiers will be played on Thursday.
In accordance with club coefficients, the 48 clubs will be divided into four pots. There will be 12 teams in each of the four pots. The 12 groups will consist of a team drawn from each of the pots. Bayer 04 will be in the first pot along with Arsenal, Chelsea and Villareal. Clubs from the same association (from Germany they are the cup winners Eintracht Frankfurt and possibly RB Leipzig) cannot meet at the group stage. The Werkself will be represented at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Friday by Fernando Carro (chairman of the board), Lennart Coerdt (assistant director sport) and Simon Pallmann (operational business section).
DAZN hold the rights to all 205 Europa League games from the current season to 2021 and the streaming service will broadcast the draw on Friday live from 13.00 CET. In addition, the two TV broadcasters RTL and RTL Nitro will broadcast 15 games on free TV. On each matchday, the TV contract with the RTL media group guarantees one exclusive live broadcast plus highlights from all the other games.
Matchday 1: 20 September
Matchday 2: 4 October
Matchday 3: 25 October
Matchday 4: 8 November
Matchday 5: 29 November
Matchday 6: 13 December
The Werkself face Manchester City for the very first time on Tuesday for Matchday 5 of the league phase in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The hosts sit fourth in the standings and boast huge quality in attack, while Leverkusen are looking to improve their meagre record of just one win from the last 10 games away at English clubs. A key player in that regard could be Aleix Garcia, the former City midfielder who ranks highly in several passing metrics in the Champions League this season. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
Show more
The Werkself's next European trip takes them to the north-west of England as Kasper Hjulmand's side take on Manchester City on Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET) on Matchday 5 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. As usual, we'll take you along on the #aCROSSeurope journey and report from Manchester. All times listed are in CET.
Show more
The dress rehearsal in the Premier League for the match against the Werkself did not go well at the weekend. However, Manchester City are still unbeaten in the UEFA Champions League, the competition they won in 2023. In the first encounter with Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Pep Guardiola will be able to field just about his best line-up. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Will the Bayer 04 U19s take the next step towards their first appearance in the knockout stage of the UEFA Youth League in the away game at Manchester City? Coach Kevin Brok is well aware of this historic opportunity, but he's not about to start worrying about the maths: "We're not concerned with the question of what might be good enough. We invest everything we can and always aim for the maximum. That's our way." The game on this penultimate Matchday 5 of the league phase takes place on Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 16:00 CET) at the Manchester City Academy Stadium. Werkself TV will be broadcasting the whole match exclusively for Bayer 04 club members live from 15:50 CET....
Show more
€1,000 and food for a good cause: In keeping with the long-standing cooperation between Bayer 04 and the Tafel Leverkusen e.V. food bank, the U19s are also supporting the charitable organisation in the region. In addition to the generous cheque the team were able to donate to an organisation of their choice as a result of their participation in the UEFA Youth League, coach Kevin Brok's lads donated €500 worth of food - financed by their own team kitty. Ferdinand Pohl, Jesper Schlich and Co. also actively helped to stow the food in the Tafel's premises.
Show more
