Arsenal Women’s Champions League dates confirmed | OneFootball

Arsenal’s title defence begins with a challenging group of familiar rivals.

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The new Women’s Champions League format will see 18 teams contest the trophy in a league phase, each playing six matches, three at home and three away.

Holders Arsenal enter as top seeds, with all home fixtures to be staged at Meadow Park.

OL Lyon, Real Madrid and FC Twente will all visit north London, while Arsenal face away trips to Bayern Munich, Benfica and OH Leuven.

It is a balanced draw, but as reigning champions Arsenal should fear no one. Lyon at home and Bayern away appear the sternest tests.

Lyon, now coached by former Barcelona manager Jonatan Giráldez, are familiar opponents. Twice before they have visited Meadow Park and twice departed with 3-2 victories.

Bayern are also regular rivals and are now managed by José Barcala, another Spaniard with a reputation for tactical innovation.

Real Madrid were beaten on Arsenal’s route to the title last season and return under new coach Pau Quesada.

The Belgian, Dutch and Portuguese champions represent new opposition for Arsenal in Europe. A trip to Lisbon will evoke fond memories of last season’s triumph, when Arsenal lifted the Champions League in Portugal.

The schedule is as follows:

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Elsewhere, Chelsea were paired with Barcelona, Roma and Paris FC at home, and will travel to Wolfsburg, St Pölten and Twente. All are winnable games, though Barcelona pose the greatest threat.

Manchester United, competing in the main tournament for the first time after falling in previous qualifiers, will host Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain and Vålerenga, while facing Wolfsburg, Juventus and Atlético Madrid away. It is a demanding draw for a debut campaign.

Under the new system, the top four of the 18 teams advance directly to the quarter-finals. Those ranked fifth to 12th will go into the play-offs, while the rest are eliminated.

Arsenal’s target will be a top-four finish and a points tally of 16 to 18, avoiding two additional fixtures in February immediately after the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.

About the draw, Renee Slegers said, “It’s three teams again that we just played against last season in the Champions League.

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“We’re very excited of course. It’s a new format, so you play against six different opponents. The draw is there, now we know who we’re going to play against and we’re going to prepare for it. They’re scheduling at the moment, so we’ll see what the first game is.

“If you look at the different games that are going to be played, there’s a lot of competitive games and I think that’s why UEFA changed the format as well, to keep it as competitive as possible for as long as possible.”