Women’s Champions League football is back, and this year’s tournament is set to be more competitive than ever.
With the draw for the group stage now complete, both Arsenal and Chelsea have been handed a tough set of matches.
The Gunners, still the only English club to win the Women’s Champions League, were drawn in Group C with Lyon, Juventus and Zurich, while Chelsea are in Group A with Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Vllaznia.
Group B comprises Wolfsburg, Slavia Prague, St Polten and Roma, while Group D consists of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Rosengård and Benfica.
With Arsenal and Chelsea fans both hoping their respective teams can end English misery in the Champions League, GiveMeSport Women assesses their group stage opponents.
Who will Chelsea face in Women’s Champions League Group A?
Paris Saint-Germain
Manager: Gérard Prêcheur
Stadium: Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris
Best finish in the UWCL: Runners-up in 2015 and 2017
Key Players: Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Grace Geyoro, Ashley Lawrence, Lieke Martens
Chelsea’s chances: PSG may have been embroiled in scandal after a brutal attack on Kheira Hamraoui last year, but they still boast a squad full of talented players.
They even ended Lyon’s dominance in the Division 1 Féminine in 2021, winning the league for the first time in the club’s history. PSG haven’t been quite up to the same standard since, but they will definitely provide Chelsea’s toughest match in the group stage.
MADRID, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 18: Marie-Antoinette Katoto of Paris Saint-Germain celebrates with Paulina Dudek of Paris Saint-Germain after scoring the first goal during the UEFA Women's Champions League group B match between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on November 18, 2021 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
Real Madrid
Manager: Alberto Toril
Stadium: Alfredo Di Stéfano in Madrid
Best finish in the UWCL: Quarter-finals in 2022
Key Players: Esther González, Caroline Weir, Athenea del Castillo
Chelsea’s chances: Real Madrid, only officially founded in 2020, made their Champions League debut last year. They showed they deserved a return to the European stage by stunning Manchester City again in qualifying.
They have a number of players who will certainly cause trouble for Chelsea, including former Manchester City star Caroline Weir, but the Blues have a stronger squad overall.
MADRID, SPAIN - AUGUST 21: Caroline Weir of Real Madrid warms up prior to the UEFA Women's Champions League match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on August 21, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images,)
Vllaznia
Manager: Nikolin Leka
Stadium: Loro Boriçi Stadium in Shkodër
Best finish in the UWCL: N/A
Key Players: Megi Doçi, Ezmiralda Franja
Chelsea’s chances: KFF Vllaznia Shkodër will be making their group stage debut in the Women’s Champions League, having failed to make it past the qualifying round for the past 10 years.
Despite being nine-time winners of the Albanian National Championship, Vllaznia will surely be Chelsea’s best chance of picking up points in Group A.
Who will Arsenal face in Women’s Champions League Group A?
Lyon
Manager: Sonia Bompastor
Stadium: Groupama OL Training Centre in Lyon
Best finish in the UWCL: Eight-time winners, most recently in 2022
Key Players: Wendie Renard, Ada Hegerberg, Delphine Cascarino
Arsenal’s chances: Lyon are the most successful team in Women’s Champions League history, winning the tournament a record eight times.
Their squad is bursting with world class players, and the Gunners will do well to even get a point off the French champions.
TURIN, ITALY - MAY 21: Ada Hegerberg of Olympique Lyonnais controls the ball during the UEFA Women's Champions League final match between FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyon at Juventus Stadium on May 21, 2022 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Juventus
Manager: Joe Montemurro
Stadium: Juventus Training Centre in Turin
Best finish in the UWCL: Quarter-finals in 2022
Key Players: Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir, Pauline Peyraud Magnin, Sofia Cantore
Arsenal’s chances: A familiar face will return to North London when the Gunners play Juventus. Manager Joe Montemurro made the move to Turin after leaving Arsenal last year.
The match between Arsenal and Juventus will be fiercely contested, and the winner of these contests will likely qualify for the knockout stages behind Lyon. It really could go either way.
VINOVO, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 16: Team picture of Juventus during the Women Serie A match between Juventus and AS Roma at Juventus Center Vinovo on September 16, 2022 in Vinovo, Italy. (Photo by Chris Ricco/Getty Images)
Zurich
Manager: Inka Grings
Stadium: Sportzentrum Heerenschürli in Zürich
Best finish in the UWCL: Round of 16 in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019
Key Players: Fabienne Humm, Nadine Riesen
Arsenal’s chances: Zurich are perhaps the weakest team in a very strong group, but they still have serious Champions League pedigree.
Arsenal will need to take points off them to have any chance of reaching the knockout stages – and they likely will – but both matches will be closely fought.