English Heavyweights Face Tough Paths in Women’s Champions League

Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City now know the road that stands between them and Warsaw. It is not gentle.

The league phase draw in Nyon dropped the English trio into a web of European royalty, reunions and score-settling ties that will shape the season long before the knockout rounds begin.

Arsenal walk into a gauntlet of giants

Arsenal’s name came out alongside the two most decorated clubs in the competition’s history: holders Barcelona and eight-time champions Lyon. For a side intent on re-establishing itself at the sharp end of Europe, it is as brutal as it is enticing.

They will host Lyon, Benfica and HB Koge at home. The Danish side bring good memories – Arsenal beat them home and away in 2021-22 – but there will be no hiding place in the away fixtures.

Renee Slegers’ team must travel to Barcelona, Paris FC and Inter Milan, three trips that demand both depth and nerve. Barcelona, the current standard-bearers of the European game, will test Arsenal’s ability to live with relentless pressure. Paris FC and Inter add different threats: organised, awkward, and desperate to bloody a heavyweight nose.

If Arsenal harbour serious ambitions of going deep into the competition, this is the kind of section they have to master, not fear.

Chelsea’s Lyon reunion and a London stage

Chelsea, beaten finalists in 2020-21, were always going to attract attention in this revamped league phase. The draw has given them storylines everywhere they look.

In London, they will welcome Paris St‑Germain, Roma and Austria Wien, who make their debut at this stage. Those home nights offer Chelsea a clear opportunity to build a platform; drop points there, and the away schedule suddenly looks far more unforgiving.

The headline, though, sits in France. Blues manager Sonia Bompastor will return to her former club Lyon, the record Champions League winners and a team she knows as well as anyone in the competition. Emotion will swirl around that tie, but the margins will be purely sporting.

Chelsea’s away list is completed by trips to Swedish side Hacken and OH Leuven in Belgium. Neither carries Lyon’s aura, yet both are capable of turning a careless performance into a long, uncomfortable evening. Chelsea’s squad depth and game management will be under constant examination.

Manchester City back in Europe – and straight into Bayern

Manchester City, back in continental competition after missing out last season, slipped into pot three and immediately dodged the absolute worst-case scenario. That does not mean Andree Jeglertz’s side can relax.

Their home fixtures are heavyweight enough: PSG, Real Madrid and Austria Wien all visit Manchester. Those games will dictate whether City can control their own fate or spend the closing matchdays chasing others’ results.

Away from home, the assignment hardens. City must travel to Bayern Munich, Hacken and Inter Milan. Bayern, semi-finalists last season, represent the sternest test, a direct gauge of how quickly City have readjusted to European rhythm after their year out.

For the Women’s Super League champions, this is a draw that demands instant sharpness. There is no soft landing.

Old grudges, new stakes across Europe

The intrigue is not limited to English clubs. One of the standout ties from Friday’s draw sees Barcelona and Bayern Munich meet again, this time in Munich, in a replay of their 2025-26 semi-final. Bayern will also head to Paris to face PSG, another clash loaded with tactical nuance and ambition.

All 18 clubs were seeded into three pots of six, each team drawn against two opponents – one home, one away – from each pot. Arsenal and Chelsea sat among the top seeds in pot one, while City’s return to Europe began from pot three.

UEFA will confirm the full match schedules on Saturday, 5 September. The league phase opens on 22 and 23 September and runs through to 16 December, with matchdays spaced across late September, October and November before the final round just before Christmas.

From there, the competition tightens. Knockout play-offs arrive in February 2027, quarter-finals in March and semi-finals in early May. The final, set for the last week of May in Warsaw, now looms on the horizon as the ultimate prize.

For Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, the route is clear. The question is simple: who will still be standing when Warsaw comes into view, and who will be left wondering what might have been?