The group stage of the Europa League is over. Bayer 04 and the other seven top teams are through to the Round of 16 and thereby avoid the Round of 32. The first leg of the Round of 16 will be played on Thursday, 10 March 2022. The second leg matches will be played a week later.
The second group stage will be played – without Bayer 04. The second-placed teams in the Europa League will face the third-placed teams in the Champions League groups on 17 and 24 February. The winners of those matches go through to the Round of 16 where they will play the eight group winners from the Europa League (including the Werkself).
The draw for the Europa League Round of 16, set to be held on 25 February, excludes two clubs from the same country playing each other. Accordingly, there are the following 14 possible opponents for the Werkself in the Round of 16:
Second-placed teams from the Europa League: Rangers, Real Sociedad, Napoli, Olympiakos, Lazio, Sporting Braga, Real Betis, Dinamo Zagreb.
Third-placed teams from the Champions League: FC Porto, FC Sheriff, Barcelona, Atalanta, FC Sevilla, Zenit St. Petersburg (not possible: Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig).
Europa League dates and fixtures:
There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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Bayer 04 have won each of their last five competitive encounters with 1. FC Köln, and it's around seven years since their last defeat in the cathedral city. That said, the hosts are in strong form at home and will make it anything but easy for the Werkself at the RheinEnergieSTADION on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 15:30 CET). The Matchday News.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 2-0 win against Hamburger SV on Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
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1. FC Köln host Bayer 04 on Sunday 8 November (kick-off 15:30 CET) in the 75th Bundesliga derby between the Rhineland neighbours. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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