From this season, 36 instead of 32 clubs will start the Champions League. The previous group phase is replaced by a league phase made up of all 36 participating clubs. Each team plays eight different opponents in the league phase. Only one home or one away game will be played against each opponent. The opponents will be determined as part of the draw of the league phase on Thursday night.
The results of the eight matchdays in the league phase will produce an overall table. The top eight teams from that table go straight through to the Round of 16. The other eight places for the Round of 16 will be determined by a play-off round with home and away legs. That will involve the teams from places 9 to 16 against the teams from places 17 to 24. Teams in places 25 to 26 in the overall table will go out of the Champions League and European competition as there will no longer be the transfer to the Europa League as in previous seasons.
The eight clubs who progress from the play-off round will complete the Round of 16 line-up. The draw will decide who the top eight teams in the final table play. The Round of 16 ties will be played in home and away legs with the best eight teams at home in the second leg. The Champions League will return to the current format from the Round of 16.
The draw for the league phase sees the 36 participating clubs allocated to four pots according to UEFA club coefficients. Bayer 04 are in pot two. The Werkself, like every other club, will play two teams from all four pots.
Each club will be drawn manually once with computer software determining the eight opponents and whether the matches are at home or away. Matches between two clubs from the same country are not possible in the league phase.
The dates for the league phase fixtures will not be released on the same day as the draw but instead will be announced by UEFA on Saturday, 31 August.
Pot 1:
Real Madrid
Manchester City
Bayern Munich (not possible)
Paris Saint-Germain
Liverpool
Inter Milan
Borussia Dortmund (not possible)
RB Leipzig (not possible)
Barcelona
Pot 3:
Feyenoord
Sporting CP
PSV Eindhoven
Dinamo Zagreb
FC Salzburg
Lille OSC
Red Star Belgrade
Young Boys
Celtic
Pot 2:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Atletico Madrid
Atalanta
Juventus
Benfica
Arsenal
FC Brugge
Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan
Pot 4:
Slovan Bratislava
AS Monaco
Sparta Prague
Aston Villa
Bologna
Girona
VfB Stuttgart (not possible)
SK Sturm Graz
Stade Brestois
Bayer 04 automatically go into the UEFA Youth League due to the qualification of the first team for the Champions League. The six matchdays in the European U19 competition will be played on the same matchdays as the Champions League games. The only difference is the Youth League will not be played on matchdays seven and eight of the Champions League in the New Year. The youth competition will only be played on the first six matchdays. Following the league phase, this Champions League route and the so-called champions route, involving all European league champions, will be brought together for the knockout phase. From there, the opponents in the Youth League will be drawn and no longer linked to the Champions League draw as in the league phase.
Special sports class for enthusiastic primary school children: as part of the first action day of the Bayer 04 campaign ‘District Matchdays’ in the 2024/25 season, Werkself players Vanessa Haim and Estrella Merino Gonzalez visited the KGS Thomas-Morus-Schule in Schlebusch on Wednesday afternoon and led a lesson in the gym. This was anything but an unusual situation for summer signing Haim.
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Along with Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord have for many years been amongst the top three clubs in Dutch football. After winning the league title for the 16th time in the club's history year ago, Feyenoord finished last season as runners-up. Now the club from the port city face the champions of Germany on matchday one in the UEFA Champions League 2024/25. Bayer 04 can expect a rough ride at the cauldron of the De Kuip stadium on Thursday, 19 September (kick-off: 18.45 CEST). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Ahead of the opening match in the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 away to top Dutch club Feyenoord on Thursday, 19 September (kick-off: 18.45 CEST), the Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team has all the info you need for the match at Feyenoord's De Kuip stadium…
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The Bayer 04 Women's team play newly promoted Turbine Potsdam in the Round of 16 in the DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw held on Monday night. The match will be played between 22 and 24 November with details to be confirmed.
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