Holders Arsenal and Chelsea will face Women’s Champions League semi-final reunions against Lyon and Barcelona respectively with the WSL’s three representatives all handed tough fixtures in this year’s inaugural league phase.
The Gunners stunned the eight-time winners in last season’s final four, emerging 5-3 aggregate winners despite a 2-1 first leg home defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
Renee Slegers’ side will hope to avenge that loss when they meet their Pot 1 opponents this season in north London, with a trip to Bayern Munich – who they also faced in last season’s group stages – their other highest-rated opposition.
There will be another reunion against Real Madrid at the Emirates, the same team they stunned with three goals in 13 minutes to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the second leg of their quarter-final last season.
Arsenal stunned Real Madrid with three goals in 13 minutes to overturn a 2-0 deficit in last season’s quarter-finals
A trip to Benfica is also on the cards, with FC Twente and OH Leuven the Gunners’ opponents from Pot 3.
In the Women’s Champions League’s new format, each side will play six teams from the 18 who have qualified for the league phase, with two opponents from each of three pots based around their European coefficient.
WSL winners Chelsea will look to finally get the better of Barcelona after falling to the Catalan giants in the semi-final stage in each of the last three seasons, with 2022/23 finalists Wolfsburg their other Pot 1 opponents.
They will welcome Roma and Paris FC to west London, and face trips to St Polten and FC Twente.
Man Utd have been handed a tough draw as their reward for qualifying for the Champions League for the first time, with both Lyon and Wolfsburg as well as two-time finalists PSG among their opponents.
Marc Skinner’s side will also travel to Serie A champions Juventus, with Valarenga and Atletico Madrid their fellow Pot 3 matches.
Man Utd beat SK Brann 3-1 on aggregate to qualify for the Champions League for the first time
The order of fixtures for each team, which begin on the midweek of October 7-8, will be revealed on Saturday.
Arsenal’s fixture list in full
- Lyon (h)
- Bayern Munich (a)
- Real Madrid (h)
- Benfica (a)
- FC Twente (h)
- OH Leuven (a)
Chelsea’s fixture list in full
- Barcelona (h)
- Wolfsburg (a)
- Roma (h)
- St Polten (a)
- Paris FC (h)
- FC Twente (a)
Man Utd’s fixture list in full
- Lyon (h)
- Wolfsburg (a)
- PSG (h)
- Juventus (a)
- Valarenga (h)
- Atletico Madrid (a)
When will the games be played?
- Matchday 1: October 7-8
- Matchday 2: October 14-15
- Matchday 3: November 11-12
- Matchday 4: November 19-20
- Matchday 5: December 9-10
- Matchday 6: December 17
How does the league phase work?
At the end of the six-game league phase, the teams ranked first to fourth will automatically qualify for the quarter-finals, with the next eight teams – ranked fifth to twelfth – facing off in a two-legged play-off to determine who will join them.
The teams ranked 13th to 18th will be eliminated.
