Group A
Barcelona, Rosengård, Benfica, Eintracht Frankfurt: There is a lot of familiarity between these teams, this being almost a rerun of last season’s Group D, where Barcelona were drawn against Bayern Munich, Rosengård and Benfica. The draw has been even kinder to the reigning champions this time. Barcelona beat Benfica 15-2 across their two matches last season and Rosengård 10-1. Bayern delivered the upset, beating the Spanish champions 3-1 after they had lost the away game 3-0. Eintracht are unlikely to pose anywhere near that level of threat, though they are one of only three former winners left in the tournament; the German side are ninth in the Frauen Bundesliga with one win from four games. Rosengård’s hopes of defending their Damallsvenskan title are over, the club seventh with three games to play. Their only chance of qualification for next season is to win the competition, a task made harder by the delayed start to the group stage as a result of the women’s World Cup having been pushed back to allow more time between the men’s tournament in Qatar and the women’s. The groups kick off on the weekend of 14-15 November, days after the end of the Damallsvenskan season. That could give Benfica, the 1a Divisão leaders, the edge when it comes to who will finish second.
To progress: Barcelona, Benfica
Group B
Lyon, Slavia Prague, St Pölten, Brann: Of the automatically qualified teams, Lyon will be the happiest with their draw, the French champions having been matched with arguably the weakest team from each pot in the Czech champions, Slavia Prague, the Austrian champions, St Pölten, and the Norwegian champions, Brann. There is a familiar face at Brann for fans of the Women’s Super League, with the former Manchester United assistant manager Martin Ho the head coach. Lyon will almost certainly top the group with ease, the interesting question being which team will follow the eight-time champions into the knockout stage. Each of the other three will fancy their chances of securing at least an extra €25,000 for reaching the last eight on top of the €400,000 they will be paid for being in the group stage and the €20,000 they received for each qualifying round. The financial windfall will be welcome and playing against teams closer to them ability wise, with showpiece fixtures against the best in Lyon, will be hugely important developmentally. Could there be an upset against Lyon? It is incredibly unlikely. Last season Arsenal secured a stunning 5-1 away win against them and Juventus earned two draws but Lyon were injury hit. Now they are strengthened and have players returned or returning from injury.
To progress: Lyon, Slavia Prague
Group C
Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain, Roma, Ajax: Perhaps the tastiest group. Bayern have seen little benefit from finishing top of the Frauen Bundesliga and being a top seed, other than avoiding qualifying. PSG, Roma and Ajax will offer a stern test of the German side, who lost to Arsenal in the quarter-finals last season. PSG beat an impressive Manchester United 4-2 over two legs to reach the group stage. Meanwhile, the Italian champions Roma saw off the Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava 9-1 over two legs and Ajax finished with an 8-0 aggregate victory over Zurich. Bayern sit third in the league with two wins and two draws, behind Hoffenheim and the leaders, Wolfsburg, who were eliminated from the Champions League by Paris FC in qualifying. Roma are top of Serie A after a perfect start and Ajax fourth in the Eredivisie Vrouwen with two wins and a draw from three games. Roma reached the quarter-finals last season for the first time and are becoming an increasingly competitive side in Europe. Ajax’s best result in the UWCL was a last-16 exit in 2018-19.
To progress: Bayern Munich, PSG
Group D
Chelsea, Real Madrid, Häcken, Paris FC: England’s sole representative in the group stage have their work cut out. Chelsea qualified automatically, despite securing the Women’s Super League title, only as a result of Barcelona won last season’s tournament. Emma Hayes’ side lost to Barcelona in the semi-finals last season and were beaten by them in the final in 2020-21. To top the group Chelsea will have to navigate a way past three tricky sides. Madrid failed to escape from their group last season but they have grown and recruited, and have eight of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, including the goalscorer in the final, Olga Carmona. Häcken, formerly Göteborg, reached the quarter-finals in 2011-12 and 2012-13 but have not got out of the group stage in recent years. Paris FC delivered shock after shock in qualifying, knocking out last season’s semi-finals Arsenal and runners-up, Wolfsburg. If Chelsea fail to progress, England’s coefficient will be hit and the winners of this season’s WSL may not be able to count on automatic qualification. Hayes has a squad capable of making it through but the pressure is on from the off for a side desperate for European success.
To progress: Chelsea, Real Madrid
