Arsenal will begin their Women’s Champions League title defence on Tuesday with a challenging home fixture against French giants Lyon, as the competition debuts a new 18-team league format.
The restructured tournament replaces the previous 16-team group stage, with each club now playing six matches, three at home and three away. The top four teams from the league phase will qualify directly for the quarter-finals, while those finishing fifth to 12th will move into a knockout play-off round.
With high stakes from the outset, teams will need to start strongly. For Arsenal, the task is a daunting one, as they face the reigning French champions and eight-time European winners Lyon at Meadow Park. The match is a repeat of last season’s semi-final, which Arsenal won 5-3 on aggregate.
However, the Gunners enter this fixture in poor domestic form. A 3-2 defeat to Women’s Super League title rivals Manchester City on Saturday followed consecutive draws against Manchester United and Aston Villa, leaving Renee Slegers’s side fifth in the table. The absence of injured captain Leah Williamson has further exposed Arsenal’s defensive vulnerabilities in recent matches.
Speaking after Saturday’s loss, Slegers acknowledged the need for improvement. “When we have momentum, capitalise, be ruthless and protect yourself really well for when the momentum shifts again,” she said. “I think that’s definitely something we’ll look at and that we want to do better. But heads up looking forward to Lyon. We’re going to do everything we can to recover from this one and show up in a really good Arsenal way on Tuesday.”
In contrast, Lyon are in red-hot form under new head coach Jonatan Giraldez, who previously led Barcelona to European dominance. The French side top their domestic league with four wins from four, scoring 19 goals along the way. They followed a 6-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain with an 8-1 thrashing of Lens on Friday.
With a front line boasting Kadidiatou Diani, Melchie Dumornay, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and new signing Jule Brand, Lyon travel to north London with an abundance of attacking options ready to test Arsenal’s defence.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, last season’s Champions League runners-up Barcelona host Bayern Munich in another blockbuster fixture. Many of the Barcelona players will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing end to last season, which included a final defeat to Arsenal and a penalty shoot-out loss to England in the Women’s European Championship final.
Aitana Bonmati, who recently won her third consecutive Ballon d’Or, will be aiming to rediscover her form after a difficult summer that included illness and missed penalties. Despite scoring five goals in Barcelona’s opening Liga F matches, she has not found the net since early September. Bayern, currently unbeaten and second in the Frauen-Bundesliga, present a significant early test.
On Wednesday, Chelsea begin their campaign away to Dutch champions Twente, while Paris Saint-Germain travel to face German powerhouse Wolfsburg. Other fixtures include Real Madrid hosting Roma, Manchester United facing Norway’s Valerenga and Juventus welcoming Benfica.
