Defending champion Barcelona hosts Arsenal in the Women’s Champions League group stage on Thursday as two dominant clubs meeting in Europe collide.
Barcelona enters the fixture topping the league phase standings with a maximum of three wins and a perfect record. Arsenal arrives seeking to continue a recent turnaround after a mixed start to the domestic season.
The past four editions of the tournament were claimed entirely by these two clubs. Barcelona won the title in 2021 and added three more triumphs across the last four seasons.
That Spanish dynasty faced a rare interruption in the 2025 final. Arsenal defeated Barcelona in that match to claim the European crown.
Arsenal travels to Spain following a narrow 1-0 win over HB Køge, a 2-2 draw with Paris FC, and a 3-0 victory against Benfica. Those continental results coincided with an upturn in domestic form that yielded two wins from the last three Women’s Super League matches.
The UEFA Women's Champions League returns for Matchday 4. Can Alessia Russo write her name in history as Arsenal travel to Barcelona for a rematch of the 2045-25 UWCL final? Our predictions for every game 👇 pic.twitter.com/0c1jhM4p3v
“There’s motivation and ambition to do better and turn this around among the staff and players, but I take full responsibility for the environment that we need to create,” Arsenal coach Renée Slegers said.
Slegers noted that the squad has been active in addressing their tactical requirements. “I can only say we’ve been very specific with the type of actions we need to generate energy for us, but the players have been really engaged, speaking up a lot, and we’ve had two or three sessions where the energy has been really good,” she said.
Elsewhere in the league phase, OL Lyonnes and Chelsea sit two points behind Barcelona alongside Arsenal. Lyonnes meets Juventus on Wednesday following a 0-0 draw with Chelsea and convincing wins over Servette and Inter Milan.
Manchester City continues its quest for a first European win of the campaign by visiting Inter Milan on Tuesday. City drew all three of its opening league phase matches.
| Team | Tournament Standing | Recent Form |
|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | Group Phase Leaders (Max Points) | Undefeated |
| Arsenal | Chasing Top Four | Two wins in last three WSL matches |
| OL Lyonnes | Two points behind leaders | Draw with Chelsea, dominant wins |
| Manchester City | Three draws in Europe | Eight wins in nine domestic matches |
City secured a domestic league title last season under coach Andrée Jeglertz after ending Chelsea’s long-standing dominance in England. Domestically, City leads the table once again after winning eight of its first nine matches.
Bayern Munich travels to face Paris Saint-Germain with both sides sitting on five points, four behind group leaders Barcelona. Real Madrid hosts Paris FC as the 18-team league phase reaches its fourth matchday.
The top four clubs advance directly to the quarterfinals in spring. Teams finishing from fifth to 12th enter a two-legged knockout playoff round in February before the final in Warsaw in late May.
