Women’s Champions League draw: Arsenal faces reigning champions Barcelona in one of the standout fixtures of the 2026/27 league phase, while Chelsea has been handed a meeting with Paris Saint-Germain after the official draw was completed in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday, September 4.
The draw has immediately given the new European campaign a heavyweight feel, with several of the continent’s biggest women’s clubs set to meet before the knockout rounds even begin.
It is worth clarifying that UEFA no longer uses the traditional group-stage format for the Women’s Champions League. The competition now operates with an 18-team single league phase, introduced in the 2025/26 season. Each club plays six matches against six different opponents, with three games at home and three away.
Arsenal’s Women’s Champions League draw brings Barcelona test
Arsenal will have to navigate one of the toughest schedules in the league phase, with reigning champions Barcelona among their opponents.
The English side will travel to Barcelona, while their other fixtures include home matches against eight-time European champions OL Lyonnes and Benfica. Arsenal will also face Paris FC away, with HB Køge visiting London and Inter Milan providing another away test.
Arsenal’s meeting with Barcelona is particularly intriguing because of the clubs’ recent European history. Arsenal won the 2024/25 Women’s Champions League, defeating Barcelona in the final to claim the club’s second European title. However, their title defence ended in the semi-finals last season after they were beaten by OL Lyonnes.
Barcelona enter this season as holders after defeating OL Lyonnes 4-0 in last season’s final in Oslo. The Spanish club also finished top of the league phase last season before going on to lift the trophy for the fourth time.
That makes the Arsenal-Barcelona clash one of the early fixtures that European football fans will be watching closely.
Chelsea face PSG in another major Women’s Champions League clash
Chelsea will also have a demanding European campaign, with Paris Saint-Germain among their six opponents.The Blues will host PSG, Roma and Austria Wien, while their away fixtures are against OL Lyonnes, Swedish side Häcken and OH Leuven.
Chelsea reached the quarter-finals of last season’s competition and remain one of the most experienced teams in the tournament. UEFA lists the club as having reached the league phase or group stage in every season since the competition was restructured in 2021/22. Chelsea’s best Women’s Champions League finish remains runners-up in 2020/21.
PSG, meanwhile, reached the league phase after coming through qualifying. The French side defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 after extra time in the second leg of their final qualifying tie, securing their place among Europe’s elite once again.
The PSG challenge will therefore give Chelsea an early opportunity to measure themselves against another club with significant European experience.
Arsenal and Chelsea will also face Lyon
One of the interesting features of the draw is that both English clubs have been paired with OL Lyonnes.
Arsenal will host the French champions, while Chelsea will travel to face them. Lyon are eight-time winners of the Women’s Champions League and reached the final last season before losing to Barcelona. UEFA ranks them second in the competition’s club coefficient rankings at the end of the 2025/26 season, behind Barcelona.
For Arsenal, the Lyon fixture carries added significance. The two sides met in the semi-finals last season, with Lyon ending Arsenal’s title defence after the English club had eliminated them at the same stage one year earlier.
Chelsea’s trip to Lyon will be another major test, particularly as the London club is beginning a new European campaign after qualifying through the third round.
Manchester City also receive a difficult draw
Manchester City, returning to the competition after missing last season, will face PSG, Real Madrid and Austria Wien at home, while their away matches will come against Bayern Munich, Häcken and Inter Milan.
City qualified as English champions and return to the Women’s Champions League after completing their domestic campaign with the league title. Their previous best performance in the competition was reaching the semi-finals in 2016/17 and 2017/18.
The meeting with PSG stands out, while Bayern and Real Madrid add further European pedigree across the wider league-phase schedule.
How the new Women’s Champions League format works
The 2026/27 competition features 18 teams divided into three pots of six according to UEFA club coefficient rankings. Each club is drawn against two teams from each pot. One opponent from each pot is played at home and the other away, giving every team six league-phase matches.
Clubs cannot face another team from the same national association, and there is also a limit of two opponents from any other single association.
The results will determine who advances into the knockout rounds. The top four teams in the final league standings will qualify directly for the quarter-finals. Teams finishing fifth through 12th will enter the knockout play-offs, where the remaining four quarter-final places will be decided. Teams finishing from 13th to 18th will be eliminated.
When the Women’s Champions League league phase begins
The first round of league-phase matches is scheduled for September 22 and 23, with the competition continuing through December.
Matchday two will be played on September 30 and October 1, followed by matchdays on October 28 and 29, November 10 and 11, and November 18 and 19. The sixth and final league-phase matchday is scheduled for December 16.
UEFA has confirmed the opponents and home-and-away arrangements, while the specific fixture order, dates and kick-off times are to follow.
With Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea, Lyon, PSG, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester City all involved, the 2026/27 Women’s Champions League league phase already has several fixtures capable of attracting major attention.
For Arsenal, the immediate headline is the reunion with reigning champions Barcelona.
For Chelsea, PSG and Lyon provide two significant European challenges. And with only four clubs guaranteed direct passage to the quarter-finals, every result from September onwards could prove important.
