Lukas Hradecky and Co. will find out the next hurdle on the European stage on Friday afternoon 25 February. The draw for the Round of 16 will be made at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon from noon CET. The group winners in the Europa League, alongside Bayer 04 including Bundesliga rivals Eintracht Frankfurt, are drawn in pot one. Pot two has the winners of the play-off round, all the runners-up in the Europa League and teams finishing third in the Champions League groups. In addition to RB Leipzig and Real Betis there are the following seven clubs.
The Werkself could face an opponent from the group stage in the current Europa League campaign in the shape of Real Betis. The runners-up in Group G, who had three points less than the Black and Reds, beat the Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg in the play-offs (3-2, 0-0). The team under head coach Gerardo Seoane drew 1-1 away to the team currently third in La Liga and that was followed by a convincing 4-0 victory at home.
Bayer 04 played Rangers the season before – also in the Round of 16. Leverkusen won 3-1 at Ibrox and that was followed by a 1-0 win at the BayArena. The team currently lying second in Scotland's top flight secured a surprise win against Dortmund in the play-offs (4-2, 2-2).
To be fair, FC Barcelona sounds more like the Champions League rather than the Europa league. However, the top club from Spain only finished third behind Bayern Munich and Benfica in their Champions League group. In the Round of 32 there was a 1-1 draw in the first leg against Napoli that was followed by a 4-2 victory in Italy. The last game between the Werkself and the Catalan side was back on 9 December 2015 – a 1-1 draw at Leverkusen.
Bayer 04 could also draw Sevilla. The record Europa League winners (four titles since 2014) also dropped down from the Champions League. Thanks to a 3-1 in the first leg of the play-offs against Dynamo Zagreb, the 1-0 defeat in the second leg against the top Croatian side did not affect the outcome of the tie.
The Portuguese league is always ranked behind the top five leagues in UEFA's five-year assessment. The following four top clubs are the normal representatives on the European stage: Benfica, Sporting Club, FC Porto and Sporting Braga. The Werkself can face the latter two clubs in the Round of 16. Porto beat Lazio (2-1, 2-2), Braga overcame the surprise team Sheriff Tiraspol (2-0, 3-2 on penalties).
Atalanta are well-known to the majority of football clubs in Europe from previous years. However, the Werkself have never played the club from northern Italy. Atalanta finished third in their Champions League group and then made progress through the Europa League play-off round against Olympiakos (2-1, 3-0).
The Europa League Round of 16 first leg matches will be played on Thursday 10 March with the second legs a week later on 17 March. Bayer 04 are away first.
After just two points from their last four games, the situation has become trickier for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the bottom third of the table. Only three points separate the Foals from the relegation play-off spot. Coach Eugen Polanski's team is under pressure ahead of the home game against the Werkself on Saturday, 7 February (kick-off: 18:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Calling all eSports fans: On Saturday, 21 February (from 16:00 CET), the Werkself Wildcard Cup will take place at XPERION Köln (Hansaring 97, 50670 Cologne). Interested EA FC 26 amateur players will have the opportunity to win attractive prizes and a place in the VBL Open Play-offs by WOW. The play-offs are the final preliminary stage of the VBL Grand Final by WOW, the tournament for the German individual championship and, alongside the club championship (VBL CC), the most important sub-competition in the German eSports scene. Read on for information on registration.
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At its first general meeting on 5 February 2026 in Frankfurt am Main, the Frauen Bundesliga FBL e.V. made key decisions regarding the future direction of the Women’s Bundesliga. The meeting was based on the results of the negotiations with the German Football Association (DFB) over the past few weeks.
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Another efficient performance from the Werkself in the 3-0 home win against FC St. Pauli saw them reach the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the third time in a row, and it was not the only record set on what was a successful evening. It meant head coach Kasper Hjulmand was delighted to "still be in with the chance of winning something". Like the coach, however, the ambitious Edmond Tapsoba also stated that he wanted to keep "improving" bit by bit: "We'll continue to give our all, no matter who we come up against." The Werkself review of the clash.
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