Women’s Champions League - Arsenal vs Lyon Headlines Exciting Opening Day in Matchday 1

2025-26 season kicks off in style

Europe’s top teams will compete for the ultimate prize in women’s club football once again as the UEFA Women’s Champions League proper begins! Whether you’re interested in checking out the women’s game or you’re a die-hard fan, Tuesday will display the very best of what this competition is all about.

Women’s Champions League fast facts:

• Format: 18-team, single league
• Qualification: top 4 to round of 16, 5th-12th compete in playoff
• Defending champions: Arsenal (second title)
• Record winners: OL Lyonnes (8)
• 2025-26 final venue: Ullevaal Stadion (Oslo)

Mirroring the structure of the men’s game, although with fewer overall teams, the UWCL switches to the Swiss system for the first time this season. Gone are the groups, which are replaced by a single-league format of 18 clubs.

With four matches on the docket for Tuesday, let’s highlight two of the most intriguing.

More on the UEFA Women's Champions League

Arsenal vs OL Lyonnes

One of the most anticipated fixtures not just of matchday 1, but the entire league phase sees the defending champions taking on the all-time record winners. This is a rematch of last season’s semi-final, which should add even more drama and spice to what was already a blockbuster match. 

Arsenal played the role of both the giant-killers and the comeback kids last season in their memorable title-winning campaign. They knocked off what are arguably the two best teams in the world in Barcelona (1-0 in the final) and OL Lyonnes (5-3 aggregate in the semis) and also overturned first leg deficits in both the quarter and semi-finals.

While the Gunners showed defensive steel in the final, their matchup against OL saw them break down a defence that had conceded just twice prior to their semi-final matchup, capped off with an emphatic 4-1 away win at in the second leg.

Lyon top summer transfers

• Jule Brand (from Wolfsburg)
• Marie-Antoinette Katoto (from PSG)
• Ingrid Engen (from Barcelona)
• Lily Yohannes (from Ajax)

Lyon’s pedigree speaks for itself and they are consistently among the top contenders to win the UWCL. The French champions made a number of high-profile signings in the summer, including manager Jonatan Giraldez, who guided Barcelona to back-to-back UWCL titles during his three-year stint in charge from 2021 to 2024.

With star power all over the pitch, OL boast a loaded squad and should be right there in the conversation when we get down to the final stages in May. They’ve already gotten off to a good start, winning their first four matches which includes a 6-1 thumping of PSG.

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich

The second must-see matchup of the day sees the team that many consider to be the favourites in Barcelona taking on German champions Bayern Munich.

Barcelona have been the model of success in women’s football over the last half decade. They’ve dominated the European game during that time, making the UWCL final in the last five consecutive seasons, winning three (2021, 2023, 2024).

Barcelona looked unbeatable at times last year, scoring 26 goals in the group stage, putting 10 past a good Wolfsburg side in the quarter-finals and 8 past a treble-winning Chelsea team in the semis. Coming into the final, some of the best online betting sites had them as high as 1/12 (1.08) to win, which gives context to how disappointing of a loss it was for the Catalan side.

While the men’s team dominantes the German game, Bayern Munich have historically been in the shadow of Wolfsburg on the women’s side. However, that’s starting to change, especially in the Frauen Bundesliga, where Bayern has won the last three straight titles.

On the European stage, Bayern’s lack of significant progress in the UWCL is glaring. While Wolfsburg has two titles and five finals appearances, Bayern have only made it past the quarter-finals twice, and never to the final.

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